TEXAS — With crude oil prices sitting below $60 a barrel, Texas energy companies are cutting costs and laying off workers, raising concerns about the long-term stability of the state’s dominant industry.
Texas remains the nation’s largest producer of oil and gas, a status that continues to attract investment.
“Making Texas the most attractive state in the country,” said Troy Eckard of Eckard Enterprises, which has managed oil, gas and mineral assets for four decades.
“The oil industry as a whole sets a precursor to what’s coming,” he added.
But the outlook has darkened. With crude trading just under $60 a barrel and tariffs increasing operating costs, major oil companies have laid off thousands of workers. Eckard said the companies are planning for a prolonged downturn.
“They’re expecting a long-haul of suppressed prices. That is a clear indication they do not think prices are going to be very healthy for the next 36 months, until Trump leaves office,” he said.
Eckard said his firm is one of the few bucking the trend, hiring displaced workers and expanding operations, including the purchase of a building in McKinney.
“Subsidies have been cut for solar and for wind. Green energy is gone; fossil fuel’s back,” he said.
He credited President Donald Trump’s policies for pushing oil prices lower in an effort to control inflation. Meanwhile, OPEC is producing more oil than the global market demands, adding further downward pressure on prices. The result: cheaper gas for consumers but uncertainty for some Texas workers.
“If I want to go hire really skilled people, which we’re doing, you’re going to hire some of the best you could ever hire because there’s no jobs,” he said.
Despite the turbulence, he believes the industry will eventually rebound.
“‘Cause oil and gas is going to be pretty much the only fuel that energizes Texas and the country,” he said.