A new study from Texas Tech University titled “Economic Impact: Permian Basin’s Oil & Gas Industry” exemplifies the tremendous job, energy, and revenue generation of Texas’ Permian Basin.
According to the report the Permian Basin’s oil and gas industry created and continues to sustain more than 444,000 jobs in Texas alone, with $113.6 billion in economic output. This development also provides some of the best paying jobs in the country, with the average oil and gas worker earning about $107,000 a year.
As the study notes, production from the Permian Basin exceeds 29 billion barrels of oil and approximately 75 trillion cubic feet of natural gas constituting 57 percent of Texas’ annual crude oil production. The uptick in production doesn’t disappoint when assessing the tax revenues either, with the state of Texas amassing $1.5 billion from gas production and $2.1 billion from oil production.
The authors of the study state there are benefits beyond the numbers proclaiming:
“Not only are jobs, income, value added, and output created and generated, but it appears that the economy is becoming more stable and growth more sustainable as a result of the way in which the oil and gas industry now functions.”
The job numbers in the Texas Permian Basis are impressive; but as we have noted many times before, this is just one of many examples of America’s energy resurgence. The technological advances from horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing are once again revitalizing these historical energy basins.
While much of the country struggles to pull out from their economic doldrums, energy producing states like Texas have been a beacon of opportunity. As the U.S. Energy Information Administration has noted previously, states like Texas and North Dakota continue to ramp up oil and gas production. The Texas Permian Basin may well be the foundation for this road to economic recovery.