It is taking quite some time for the energy sector to recover from all of the Biden Administrations stringent regulations and hampering policies. President Trump has promised to unleash American energy, which is currently beginning to happen, but there are still some leftover problems from the prior administration that are causing issues in the oil industry.
Texas oil and gas employment this summer saw a slip, with nearly 3,000 upstream workers losing their jobs. That equates to about 1.5 percent of the workforce. Which is not an alarming number, but certainly never a good thing. But it is hard for the industry right now, with the price of crude oil hanging around $64 a barrel, as of the time of this article. For context, big oil needs to stay between about $74 and $78 a barrel to be profitable and grow.
Oil and gas expert Phil Flynn says these low prices have caused some penny pinching for the short-term.
"Companies have to adjust to these low prices...as we go through that, there has been some shake out in the industry...that has caused some to tighten their bootstraps a little bit," he says.
Some would argue that this loss of jobs means there is some huge downturn coming for the oil industry. But in reality, with President Trump's policies, there is projected to be a bit of a boom for the industry in the coming months.
More manufacturing work is coming to the United States, mostly thanks to President Trump's trade deals, and that is going to mean a great deal for the energy sector. An even better sign is that demand is still high and growing every day.
"Is there a bit of shake out? Yes, companies are tightening the strings a bit...but we fully expect these jobs will be replaced int he next few years because the demand for oil will continue to grow," says Flynn.
All of it is part of an adjustment period for the oil industry, as one regime's bad policies end, and another more oil-friendly policies take hold.
But we just cannot seem to kick the really bad decisions by the Biden Administration. When gas prices skyrocketed, President Biden decided in his infinite wisdom to empty the strategic reserve. It effectively nuked out backup oil supply and did nothing to truly help gas prices.
So now, the industry is having to worm their way around the fallout of that choice.
"In a normal market, if that oil was not released...the U.S. oil producers would have risen production to make up a good chunk of that," Flynn says.
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