It is flat, the coastal plain is, well, a plain.
Posted on 12/28/2015 6:53:17 AM PST by thackney
For American drillers, the New Year will likely bring more of the same - financial pressure and mass layoffs.
The U.S. petroleum industry hasn't seen this many bankruptcies in one quarter since the Great Recession, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas says, counting nine Chapter 11 court filings in the year's final three-month period. And that's just a third of the year's domestic casualty count.
The Dallas Fed also estimates in a new report on Thursday the nation has lost about 70,000 oil and gas jobs since October 2014, a 14.5 percent drop in the 14 months after the domestic shale drilling boom that drew thousands to Houston's oil hub began a steep decline.
But the sacrifice of dozens of U.S. oil producers, thousands of oil field workers and more than 1,200 drilling rigs still hasn't stalled U.S. crude production enough to shrink the global oil glut that has sent oil prices below $40 a barrel.
Global crude supplies, the Fed said, could outpace demand by 600,000 barrels a day, and the world's crude storage tanks may not start to decline until 2017.
That's in part because increased production from Iran has come on earlier than anticipated and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is expected to continue pumping crude at current levels.
Iran, which expects western sanctions on its oil exports to be eased next year, has said it wants to pump an additional 500,000 barrels a day. Goldman Sachs believes that OPEC, which includes Iran, will boost its daily production in 2016 by 640,000 barrels. But that's a conservative estimate that assumes Iran will only put out 285,000 barrels a day next year.
Meanwhile, U.S. output has fallen more slowly than expected, with production declines leveling out in recent weeks, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, as the market absorbs crude production from drilling activity that happened early last summer, when oil prices were $60 a barrel.
Big-ticket oil projects coming into production in the Gulf of Mexico boosted U.S. supplies by 500,000 barrels a day from July to September, which tempered the decline in the nation's shale plays.
"Given the great uncertainty surrounding projections and the timing of supply and demand changes, the coming year promises to be a dynamic one for the oil markets," the Fed said.
U.S. crude rose 53 cents in early trading Thursday to $38.03 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, climbing 12 percent since the market reached a rock-bottom low a few days ago. Brent, the international benchmark, increased 30 cents to $37.66 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe.
And yet the Obama BLS and ADP says everything is hunky dory. Every week! Things are getting better!
That’s it? Alberta has lost about 100k. I’m glad to hear it’s going better there than we’ve been faring.
The biggest thing I tell folks is to make sure you have a real trade or something else marketable. Too many people make the big bucks with no skills. Their jobs are one trick ponies, then things tighten a bit and they’re the first to go.
I read that as only direct oil gas workers.
A support industry like mine would not be counted. I work in engineering/construction and oil/gas/petrochem hire us.
Hard to imagine any major capex projects are on the books in this planning horizon
But on the bright side, we added a couple hundred thousand to the Welfare and Food Stamp rolls.
Ya, I am the same way, I just sometimes lump them all together heh.
Depending on how this year goes, if US starts to right the ship, I may move to AZ or some other tax friendlier area that doesn’t restrict carry and ownership of boomsticks.
We got better in Texas this year. Open Carry begins in days.
The oil industry is about the worse for job stability. Has always been.
Of course, the loss of all those high-wage oil industry jobs are more than being offset by the creation of low-paying, part-time hospitality and service positions, thus allowing the Obama regime and his willing accomplices in the state-controlled media to tout the phony “economic recovery” mantra along with those B.S. BLS unemployment rate numbers each month.
AZ already has open carry.
The aside, aren’t property taxes in TX far higher than AZ?
Property taxes are higher, but no income tax like Arizona.
Ag exempts if you have some acreage make a huge difference.
I’d only be interested in acreages anyway, I like elbow space and being able to target shoot off the back deck heh.
As far as fields go, I don’t know what they’re like in relation to decent places to live.
I’m also leary of the immigration issue so close to the southern border. I’ve been immune for some time up here, but we’re starting to see moslems in greater numbers. Of course I can’t carry my kimber, and that aggravates me to no end.
My problem is trying to find the acreage with “reasonable” driving distance to the high paying jobs available in the Houston area oil /gas/petrochem industries.
The East side has shown some more possibilities that I haven’t found Southwest.
Come on down to the Missouri Ozarks.
Low taxes, low cost of living. Fish year round.
Deer, turkey in the woods. Pheasants further north.
Shoot your gun.
Did I mention low taxes ?
Is the east a dustbowl? I can handle weather, but flat with no features would tire on me heh.
That sounds like a good time too. I’m a journeyman electrician, so I’d just need reliable work. I typically do oilfield but I can do about anything. I’m not incredibly fond of residential though.
It is flat, the coastal plain is, well, a plain.
Residential is not normally going to pay like Oil/Gas/Petrochem industrial either.
If they don’t understand Class 1, Div 1/2, Groups B, C and D, it isn’t going to pay as well.
Looks lush over there, is there oil fields there? Heh
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