Texas Leads the Nation in Oil & Natural Gas Production, Employment Growth

Austin, Texas – The Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO) today released the fourth edition of its “State of Energy Report,” offering a detailed analysis of national and state trends in oil and natural gas employment, wages and other key economic factors for 2018. TIPRO’s “State of Energy Report” series was developed to further quantify and track the economic impact of domestic oil and natural gas production at the state and national level.

According to the association’s new report, the U.S. oil and gas industry employed 880,681 professionals in 2018, an increase of 45,354 jobs compared to 2017. The industry paid a national annual wage averaging $112,712 last year, more than double average private sector wages. Payroll in the U.S. oil and gas industry totaled $99 billion in 2018, an increase of 6 percent from the previous year. Additionally, total U.S. goods and services purchased in 2018 by the oil and gas industry exceeded $530 billion.

In 2018, Texas led the country in oil and gas industry employment with a total of 352,371 jobs, an increase of 26,706 jobs from 2017 numbers. Texas experienced the largest increase in industry jobs in 2018, followed by Oklahoma (5,266), New Mexico (3,626), North Dakota (2,808), and Colorado (2,282) rounding out the top five states for employment growth. Texas oil and gas employment represented 40 percent of all oil and gas jobs nationwide last year.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the U.S. became the largest global crude oil producer in 2018, officially surpassing Russia and Saudi Arabia. Independent producers, who collectively drill up to 95 percent of the oil and natural gas wells in America, led the industry in this growth. The rollback of unnecessary and overly burdensome regulations at the federal level and the pro-business environment in Texas directly contributed to a surge in oil and gas production and energy jobs.

Oil production in Texas totaled a record 1.54 billion barrels (bbl) in 2018, surpassing a previous record of 1.28 billion bbl set in 1973. The second largest producer of oil in 2018 was North Dakota (443 million bbl), followed by New Mexico (226 million bbl), Oklahoma (187 million bbl), and Alaska (175 million bbl).

Total natural gas production in Texas was 8.8 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) in 2018, compared to 8 Tcf produced in the previous year. The second largest producer of natural gas last year was Pennsylvania (6.1 Tcf), followed by Alaska (3.2 Tcf), Louisiana (2.7 Tcf) and Oklahoma (2.3 Tcf).

“As the national leader in oil and natural gas production, Texas is paving the way for America’s energy independence,” said Governor Greg Abbott. “From technological advancements resulting in increased oil and natural gas output to our LNG export facilities, the Lone Star State’s energy economy is firing on all cylinders. As Governor, I will continue to work with our independent oil and gas producers to take our economy to even greater heights.”

The oil and gas independent producers drive the energy economy directly benefiting Texas and its residents. Between 2010 – 2018, total state taxes and state royalty payments paid by the oil and gas industry in Texas exceeded $100 billion. These funds have continued to support all aspects of the state economy, including schools and education, infrastructure investment, water conservation programs and first responders, to name a few. Additionally, Texas is home to approximately 2.5 million mineral owners, of the 12.5 million mineral owners in the U.S., with oil and gas royalties generating billions of dollars for Texas families last year.

“Texas’ independent oil and gas producers are essential to our state and nation,” said Railroad Commission Chairman Christi Craddick. “I’m grateful for the leadership and tenacity of the men and women in this industry to fuel our economy, provide jobs and pay significant tax revenue for our roads, water and education infrastructure.”

“The Texas oil and gas industry has remained a cornerstone of the economy providing high-paying career opportunities, as well as significant taxes and royalty payments made to state, local and federal government entities,” said Eugene Garcia, President, Hurd Enterprises, and Chairman, TIPRO. “The favorable business environment, environmental stewardship and science based approach to regulatory oversight in Texas is a model for all oil and gas producing states. TIPRO thanks our state leaders for their commitment to ensuring that the Texas oil and natural gas industry remains a vital contributor to our state and national economy.”

From an environmental standpoint, the U.S. oil and gas industry continues to advance efforts to reduce energy emissions through innovation, best practices and voluntary industry programs. Even as production has continued to increase, CO2 emissions in the U.S. are at their lowest levels in 20 years. These positive energy emission trends are attributable to voluntary actions from operators, including investment of over $250 billion in greenhouse gas mitigating technologies by U.S. oil and natural gas companies over the past two decades. Increasing use of natural gas for electricity generation has also resulted in reductions in the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and criteria air pollutants.

“As the leading state advocacy organization representing independent oil and gas producers and royalty owners in Texas, TIPRO remains focused on advancing a targeted federal policy agenda, while protecting and strengthening an already robust business and regulatory environment in Texas,” said Ed Longanecker, President, TIPRO. “Key priorities for TIPRO at the state level during the 86th Texas Legislative session include increased funding for transportation investment in energy producing areas, workforce development, property tax reform, and a balanced approach to critical infrastructure needs that recognizes the dominance of the mineral estate, existing laws and regulations, and private property rights.”

What does Oil & Gas mean for Texas?

• Texas led the nation in oil and gas jobs with 352,371 people employed in this industry in 2018, representing 40 percent of all oil and gas jobs nationwide last year.
• Upstream jobs in Texas (228,553) were more than four times that of Oklahoma (49,717), and seven times the number of upstream jobs in Louisiana (32,846).
• Texas also led the nation in the number of oil and gas businesses (11,757), accounting for 29 percent of all oil and gas businesses nationwide.
• Oil and gas jobs in Texas paid annual average wages of $130,706 in 2018, 134 percent more than the average private sector job in Texas.
• The total payroll for oil and gas in Texas exceeded $46 billion in 2018, an increase of 9 percent from 2017.
• Texas was the top oil producing state in the nation with a record 1.54 billion bbl, an increase of 277 million bbl compared to 2017. Texas also led the country in natural gas production with 8.8 Tcf.
• Texas has eight of the top twenty-five metropolitan areas for oil and gas employment.
• Ten of the top twenty-five metropolitan areas in the country ranked by upstream employment are located in Texas.
• Between 2010 – 2018, the Texas oil and natural gas industry paid over $100 billion in state taxes and state royalty payments.
• Total U.S. goods and services purchased by the Texas oil and gas industry exceeded $204 billion in 2018, 82 percent of which were purchased from Texas businesses.

The “State of Energy Report” series is published exclusively by the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association. A full list of the data sources used to develop this report can be viewed in the methodology section of the report.

Visit https://bit.ly/2TDjF9v to download a copy of TIPRO’s 2019 “State of Energy” report.

About TIPRO

The Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO) is a trade association representing the interests of nearly 3,000 independent oil and natural gas producers and royalty owners throughout Texas. As one of the nation’s largest statewide associations representing both independent producers and royalty owners, members include small businesses, the largest, publicly-traded independent producers, and mineral owners, estates, and trusts. Members of TIPRO are responsible for producing more than 85 percent of the natural gas and 70 percent of the oil within Texas, and own mineral interests in millions of acres across the state.