Tag: Chevron

Analyzing the Low Oil Price

It’s not clear whether Royal Dutch Shell would have taken this long to make a final decision to proceed on its ethane cracker had the oil price stayed at $100/barrel. Certainly, Shell and its competitors have been forced to downsize and reel in capital spending to remain profitable to the degree that shareholders demand. Lower profits were part of the reason that Chevron put its regional HQ project on hold and the price environment seems likely to have extended the decision-making process for the Monaca project; but has the decline in oil and natural gas hurt the Pittsburgh region in the way that Texas or North Dakota has been hurt?

Real estate service company CBRE Inc. published an energy market report Tuesday morning that covers this issue very well. Its conclusion is that Pittsburgh hasn’t been negatively impacted much at all, except to the degree that the exploration and expansion of the Marcellus and Utica formations has slowed.

You can read the full report here: CBRE Energy Report 2015_Pittsburgh

The Big Jobs Are Out There

With no fanfare (or public announcement of any kind) Gordon Food Services has apparently chosen the Findlay Industrial Park as the site for its 500,000 sq. ft. refrigerated distribution center. Gordon is taking design/build proposals from Dan Vos Construction, Tippmann & Whiting-Turner around May 22. I haven’t seen costs for a refrigerated warehouse in a while here but they typically run as much as double a normal warehouse cost. That would put this project at $75 million or more.

The 302-unit Cranberry Woods apartments being developed by Trammell Crow is out to bid, due on May 22. The contractors invited to bid the $35 million project are Adolfson & Peterson, Dynamic, Facchina Construction, Fortune-Johnson Inc. & Mistick Construction.

And finally, in follow up to the buzz about Chevron’s regional headquarters last week, the company has issued a request for proposals to six construction managers or teams, due back at the end of the month. The firms involved include a mix of local & national players. Proposing are Balfour Beatty, Gilbane, Mascaro/Skanska, Massaro/Clark, PJ Dick & Whiting-Turner. The project is a campus on Montour Run Rd. that may be done in phases but should be in the $250 million range.