Texas and OPEC sure are starting to look a lot alike. Houston Chronicle.
Texas is finding itself more like a member of OPEC every day, facing many of the same challenges. Operators in the Permian Basin pumped 2.4 million barrels of oil a day in 2016, more than nine of the 14 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. New capital investments in the Permian is expected to rise from $8 billion in 2016 to over $40 billion in 2021 as Texas pumps more and more oil, according to the Texas Oil and Gas Association. Those numbers have industry cheerleaders excited because expending capital creates jobs, not only on drilling rigs, but also back in Houston where geologists and engineers analyze the rock and design the wells. After almost three years of layoffs and Hurricane Harvey, any rehiring will be welcome news. Truly, oil and gas is the only thing that sets the Texas economy apart from the rest of the nation. Like an OPEC country, Texas thrives when prices surge, demand for our natural resources grows, and cash starts pouring in for a product that was deposited under our land eons ago.