Wall Street Money Discovers the Bakken

Earlier today, I linked an article in a fairly well-known newspaper, but did not post this from the article:

Mr. Perkin said he was putting together a group to invest in a unique way in the oil boom in North Dakota: lodging.

“Every oil company in the world is going gaga over the Bakken oil fields,” he said. “The problem is there is zero infrastructure: terrible roads, no restaurants, nowhere to stay, the airport is awful, no hospitals or schools, nothing.”

Despite all that, he said, he has a group of clients investing $60 million into a hotel project with another $40 million of investments planned.

“It’s the kind of thing people are looking for — infrastructure and a hard asset,” he said. “It’s like the California gold rush. Who made the most money on the gold rush? Levi Strauss. We’re looking at the ancillary businesses that come out of the demand for oil.”

This is not without risks beyond the lack of liquidity in the deal. If the price of oil drops below $60 a barrel, the demand for Bakken crude could slow, he said. But now, he said, clients like investments that appear uncorrelated with the market volatility the fiscal cliff could cause. 

So, what newspaper? The New York Times.

MDW has noted that Wall Street money has not found its way to the Bakken yet. Occasionally I get notes from readers suggesting that once Wall Street "discovers" the Bakken, the bar will be raised; it will be a whole new ball game.

I believe this is the second post -- only the second post -- that links a story about Wall Street money discovering the Bakken. Here was the first.