Economy

Texas oil and natural gas industry employment fell 19.4% last year amid a nearly 66% decline in the price of oil and a 75% reduction in the number of active drilling rigs, according to economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Within the state, though, regions vary in their economic performance.

Summer’s sweltering temperatures are on their way to the Lone Star State, but the “Texas Miracle” — until recently driven mainly by the state’s oil/natural gas industry — is on ice, the Austin-based Texas Taxpayers and Research Association (TTARA) said in a new report.

The Obama administration’s proposal to allow limited offshore natural gas and oil drilling in the Mid- and South Atlantic area, now under fire by some coastal communities and legislators, is facing more scrutiny after a study challenged industry claims that drilling would be a boon to the region.

Low natural gas prices have kept more of the nation’s gas utility customers connected this year, according to a report Friday from the American Gas Association (AGA), the trade association of gas distribution companies.

Last year, Colorado’s oil and natural gas industry injected $29.6 billion into the state’s economy, supporting 110,000 mostly high-paying jobs, according to a study released Monday by a research unit at the Leeds Business School, University of Colorado (UC), Boulder.

Last year, Colorado’s oil and natural gas industry injected $29.6 billion into the state’s economy, supporting 110,000 mostly high-paying jobs, according to a study released Monday by a research unit at the Leeds Business School, University of Colorado (UC), Boulder.

Natural gas last year expanded its share of the global energy mix even though demand growth was hindered by a weak economy in Europe, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), which said the United States was a standout among gas-producing countries.

Natural gas last year expanded its share of the global energy mix even though demand growth was hindered by a weak economy in Europe, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), which said the United States was a standout among gas-producing countries.

Natural gas-hungry Japan is knocking on Alaska’s door, but the world’s third-largest economy won’t wait forever for liquefied North Slope gas — or pay dearly for it. The message to state lawmakers and the energy industry: hurry up with cost-competitive supply — or you’ll add even more years to the decades-long effort to commercialize those long-stymied gas reserves.