Oil and Gas Industry Continues to Struggle with Layoffs and Bankruptcies

The oil and gas industry has experienced tremendous turmoil over the past few months following the drastic drop in demand that plunged oil prices during the COVID pandemic. According to CNN Business: The Petroleum Equipment & Services Association estimates 103,420 jobs have been lost since the pandemic started, as dozens of producers and service providers have gone out of business. The industry, once booming, wasn’t in a good place even before Covid struck. Companies were struggling to stay afloat and looking to merge, burdened by high levels of debt in a global energy market flooded with supply. Texas has lost 59,000 of…

Rep. Chip Roy: Biden Would Cripple American Energy

This morning, Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX) wrote an op-ed in Fox Business with a very simple message: Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) would dismantle America’s energy industry. Harris has always been very clear in her mission to ban fracking, but Biden has flip-flopped throughout his campaign trail. “I am not banning fracking… no matter how many times Donald Trump lies about me,” Biden said confidently on August 31 to supporters in Pittsburgh. But don’t let him fool you. During a primary debate in March against Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., when his audience…

Biden’s Proposed Fracking Ban on Federal Lands and Waters Would Cause 1 Million Jobs Losses In 2022

Joe Biden has flip-flopped on his energy stance time and time again. The most controversial component of his aggressive $2 trillion climate plan is the ban on new oil and gas leases on federal lands and waters. While Biden has claimed he is not for an outright ban on the industry as a whole, industry leaders are skeptical. Frank Macchiarola, senior vice president of policy, economics and regulatory affairs at the American Petroleum Institute, told FOX Business, “The United States has experienced essentially a generational shift in energy security, economic security, employment and CO2 emission reductions as a result of the shale revolution. A…

A Fracking Ban Would Cost More Than Three Million Texan Jobs, Study Finds

A new report published by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Energy Institute found that a ban on hydraulic fracturing “would have a catastrophic effect on our economy.” If a ban on fracking were enacted in Texas, the analysis found it would cause 3.2 million jobs to be lost in the state over a four-year period 2021-2025, while reducing Texas’ Gross Domestic Product by $1.5 trillion over the same period. The average Texan will see their cost of living increase by $7,280 by 2025, while household income would decrease by $794 billion. With a fracking ban in place, there would be $106.6…

The Green New Deal Comes with A Big Price Tag for Texans

Everything’s bigger in Texas, but energy prices shouldn’t be. Former Texas Representative Jason Isaac said it best in an op-ed that ran in the Victoria Advocate: “The Green New Deal is a bad deal for Texas, and the skyrocketing costs and lost jobs aren’t worth the multibillion-dollar expense. Proponents of the expansive climate programs like the Green New Deal don’t recognize that few of the world’s great achievements have come from top-down, one-size-fits-all government mandates.” According to new research by the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF), the Green New Deal would increase the average Texas households’ annual electricity bill by…

Bloomberg-Funded Eco-Town Admits Defeat

Georgetown, Texas gained fame last year for committing to 100% renewable energy. They even got Michael Bloomberg in on the action, with Bloomberg philanthropies agreeing to fund the city with a $1 million grant. But as is the case with implementing extreme eco-policy, it never works. The project was a complete disaster, and now it’s officially over, with the city council voting unanimously to end the project. As Fox News explains, Georgetown, Texas’ plan was to “generate all of its electricity from wind and solar power.” It gained national attention because of the city’s location in oil-rich Texas, and because the town was Republican….

Warren Buffett Bets Big On American Oil

If you had $10 billion, where would you put it? For billionaire and investor savant Warren Buffett, that’s a question he thinks about often. As it turns out, Buffett thinks America’s booming energy industry is a smart investment. As Forbes explains, Buffett recently committed $10 billion to help bankroll a bid by Occidental Petroleum to acquire another oil company. Why is this opportunity so lucrative to Buffett? Because of the Permian Basin. Forbes notes, “Much of the opportunity in that sector these days is related to hydraulic fracturing (fracking), which has turned the entire original paradigm for the oil business upside down…One of…

Texas Gains Over 26,000 Energy Jobs As It “Shatters” Oil Production Records

The Texas economy is booming, thanks in large part to the oil and gas industry. A new report out this week from the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association finds that Texas has “shattered” the previous oil output record, producing a whopping 1.54 billion barrels in 2018 – a 22% increase. This is the greatest output in 45 years. This oil boom, driven by increased production in the Permian Basin, has “morphed the Permian into one of the world’s largest and most important oilfields.” As a result, Texas gained over 26,000 oil and gas industry jobs last year. The energy industry…