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Western Slope thriving on energy

By Mike Saccone -The Daily Sentinel - Thursday, March 20, 2008

The Western Slope is expected to sidestep a national and regional economic slowdown thanks largely to its thriving oil and gas industry, economic forecasts released Thursday show.

“The western region, driven by the boom in the oil and gas industry, continues to be one of the fastest- growing regions in the state based on employment, retail trade sales and nonresidential construction,” the nonpartisan Colorado Legislative Council reported.

The quarterly economic forecast reported the rising price for natural gas has buoyed the energy industry at a time when other economic sectors are declining.

“Colorado’s economy is still doing better than most of the country, but the national economic downturn is expected to creep into our state later this year,” said Todd Saliman, director of the governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting. “However, we believe that the state’s position, with respect to the energy sector in particular, will allow for Colorado to weather any impending storm much better than most states.”
 

Ann Hayes, chairwoman of the Grand Junction Area Realtors Association, said the region’s energy boom has created numerous well-paying jobs. Hayes said as local residents have started to make more money and seen their businesses thrive, the local housing market, too, has grown. “People will live where they can afford houses,” she said.

“Grand Junction’s housing market seems to be resilient … bucking a depreciation trend that has swept through other parts of the state and nation,” the Colorado Legislative Council reported.

Diane Schwenke, president of the Grand Junction Area Chamber of Commerce, said the vast majority of area businesses report that the region’s energy economy has bolstered local commerce. She said roughly a quarter of the chamber’s members have attributed the majority of Grand Junction’s growth to the energy industry. “We have heard anecdotally … from an economic standpoint, energy is having a major, positive influence,” Schwenke said.

The Colorado Legislative Council estimates other Western Slope counties, including Rio Blanco and Gunnison, will see similar levels of growth because of energy development.

Other areas of Colorado, however, could be in for a downturn, according to the state’s economic analysts. “In contrast to the last recession that hit Colorado especially hard, the state’s economy will slow in 2008, but it will fare better than the nation during this downturn,” the Colorado Legislative Council reported.

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