This is the time of year when we take a moment and reflect on the year that we just completed and look forward to the year ahead. We know that 2012 was an historic year for our community with the number of new jobs created and the amount of wealth that was circulating through our town. We know that most of that growth came from the mining of our oil resources just north of town, the construction and completion of the state's largest wind farm in our county, and the growth in our legacy companies that have made Enid what it is today. But I wanted to take just a moment to reflect on the Top 10 Things that Happened in 2012 That Nobody Knows About:
10. Mississippian Limestone Oil Play Drilling Escalates
Everyone knows there have been more energy service companies moving to our area lately, but most folks haven't seen the maps outlining the lease activity in the play. You can click here to see a series of slides showing the lease activity north of Enid over the past 10 years. You will also see a map of when those leases expire.
In the past 5 years, there have been 1,365 wells drilled in the play with most of those drilled in the past two years. Sandridge is the biggest player in the play and they still anticipate that there are about 10,000 wells that have not yet been drilled.
The bottom line is that we are still at the beginning of this play and there is still growth that can occur.
9. Woodring Runway Extension gets funded
Enid's Woodring Municipal Airport has long served as the alternate landing strip for plans at Vance Air Force Base. Unfortunately, the T-38 has not been able to use this facility because the runway was too short. With a strong commitment from the City of Enid, a great effort by Dan Ohnesorge and Mike Cooper, and a record amount of $2.5 million from the State Aeronautics Commission, this deficiency will soon be corrected.
After construction, the Woodring Airport will have an additional 2300 feet of useable runway making it 8,000 feet long.
8. The Real Effect of the Drought
Most people know that the drought has been tough the past few years, but most people don't realize what it does to our local economy. Enid's top three economic impact industries are (1) Oil and Gas (2) Vance Air Force Base and (3) Agriculture. Enid has more dry grain storage than any other city in America, and when farmers can't grow crops, our grain storage can't be filled. Some facilities are compensating by handling frac sand or crude oil, but it will still have a devastating effect on our community if it doesn't start raining again soon.
7. Journal Record Partnership
During 2012, the Journal Record ran a section every month called the Eye on Enid. This section was used to highlight Enid's growth. Some of the stories highlighted were Triangle Insurance, Wymer-Brownlee Accounting Firm, Over the Fence Farms, Grace Care, Park Avenue Thrift and the Private Partners Opportunity Fund. These stories have been very well received and have contributed to the story that "Enid really has a lot going on."
6. Continental Resources Asset Purchases
There a lot of people who thought that when Continental Resources moved their headquarters to OKC that Enid would shrivel up and die. What has actually happened in the past 12 months during this transition is that Hiland Partners has moved into Continental's north tower, Triangle Insurance purchased the south tower and grew into it, and Wymer Brownlee purchased the 1st National Bank Building and are renovating and growing into it. Almost all of Continental's old office space has been filled while Enid has set records for employment, per capita income, and sales tax collections. Don't sign the death certificate for Enid just yet...
5. Foreign Trade Zone Approved
The Cimarron Industrial Park at Woodring Airport was approved as the 7th Foreign Trade Zone Subzone in the state of Oklahoma and the only one in NW Oklahoma. This was a great achievement accomplished by Dan Ohnesorge and his staff at Woodring Airport. This is a significant asset for Enid.
4. Frac Sand Industry Comes to Enid
During 2012, Enid went from offloading almost no frac sand to offloading over 170,000 tons. This is a significant industry that has come to Enid mainly because of our intersection of the UP, BNSF, and FarmRail rail lines. Even more significant is that we expect to offload more than 600,000 tons in 2013.
3. Wind Production Tax Credit
One item hidden away in the pages of the Fiscal Cliff bill that passed a few weeks ago was an extension of the Wind Energy Production Tax Credit. This Tax Credit was extended for one year and new projects must have begun construction by the end of 2013 to qualify for the incentive. This one bit of public policy has put Garfield County back on the radar screen for a second wind farm. I'm not saying we will have another announcement this year, but it does put us back in the game.
2. Sales Tax Record
2011 was the highest retail sales level Enid has ever had. In 2012, we beat that record by 15%! That amounted to almost $100 million in additional sales in our community. There is an unprecedented amount of wealth being generated in our area recently and it is up to us to capitalize on it and make sure the growth continues.
1. Canola Plant Industry Announcement
In October of 2012, Northstar Agri Industries announced their intent to invest $200 million in an Enid Canola Processing Plant. This is more than a substantial capital investment and 55 jobs, it will include an entire build out throughout western Oklahoma. It also includes a huge leap forward in taking one of our agricultural commodities and actually adding value to it rather than loading it on a train or truck and sending it somewhere else to be processed. This is a great new industry in our area and I have appreciated the way Northstar has been received by our community.
These are the Top Ten Things That Happened in 2012 That Nobody Knows About. I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store....
Brent Kisling
Executive Director
