As Pennsylvania’s energy industry continues to flourish, energy infrastructure investment and development are becoming increasingly necessary to harness future opportunity. The many benefits that energy infrastructure will provide southeastern Pennsylvania has previously been highlighted by the 2012 IHS study on Marcus Hook Industrial Complex (MHIC) and Delaware County, but with the advancement of technology and Pennsylvania’s energy renaissance, IHS released a new study reevaluating Marcus Hook and Delaware County this week.
The report can be found here.
The Marcellus and Utica Shale’s in Pennsylvania are two of the largest shale plays in the nation, providing abundant, affordable energy resources as well as countless economic benefits to Pennsylvania. Harnessing the benefits these shale plays provide is just the first step. Recent developments at Marcus Hook and other energy investments have become a magnet for economic revitalization in the Delaware County area. The IHS report, “Marcus Hook Industrial Complex Reuse Study: Update 2015, a Regional Analysis,” emphasizes that this is only the beginning. Through infrastructure development, southeastern Pennsylvania will be positioned as a significant player in the energy industry bringing more economic progress, energy security, and job growth.
In order to promote growth and sustain a vibrant energy sector, infrastructure enhancement and new investment is needed. IHS found that the natural gas supplies in the area as well as the infrastructure projects currently under development and reported that Marcus Hook is “uniquely positioned to take advantage of shale-based natural gas and natural gas liquids” from Pennsylvania and distribute them to market.
Part of IHS’s report also evaluated Marcus Hook’s potential to become the economic magnet in Delaware County and Greater Philadelphia. They determined that a “fully-developed MHIC will have employment that is distributed across different types of activities, improving resiliency to changes in market conditions compared to when refining was the dominant activity there.” This supports other studies, which highlight the benefits of energy infrastructure, such as the Mariner East projects, as future drivers of economic growth for the region.
With the recent energy renaissance, it is clear that Pennsylvania’s natural gas supply can support significant market development throughout the state. As multiple studies have shown, energy infrastructure developments like Marcus Hook are vital to provide sustained economic growth. With this, the industry in Delaware County will not only expand, but provide a boost to the local economy and strengthen the region’s energy security.