Oklahoma Oil and Gas Industry Sees ‘Slow but Steady Improvement’

Oklahoma State Treasurer Ken Miller in December said that the state’s oil and gas industry is making “slow but steady improvement.”

Miller said that, for the second month, November tax collections from the production of oil and natural gas exceeded collections from the same month of the prior year.

Prior to October, gross production tax collections had been lower than the prior year each month since December 2014. In November, gross production taxes generated $34.1 million, up by $3.9 million, or 12.9 percent, from November 2015.

Miller also cautioned that the “spillover effect” of the energy price downturn on income and consumer spending is ongoing.

“My hope is that we will begin to see overall improvement with renewed oil field activity following OPEC’s plans to cut production levels and bring supply more in line with demand,” Miller said.