Employment numbers in the Texas industry declined in five of the first six months of 2024 even though U.S. oil production is breaking records. According to Texas Workforce Commission and Texas Oil & Gas Association, upstream oil and gas employment fell again in June by 2,000 jobs compared to May. Todd Staples, president of TXOGA, said July 24, “Operational efficiencies are driving strong production with fewer rigs, which can translate to declining industry job numbers.”
Data from Baker Hughes indicate the national rig count has declined 14 percent from 687 in June 2023 to 588 active rigs in June 2024, and U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates rig productivity gains were more than 20 percent year-to-year across major shale basins with many companies reporting similar or increased production with fewer rigs. Estimated crude production in U.S. for the week ended July 12 was 13.3 million b/d – up from 12.3 million b/d for the same week last year. And estimated U.S. natural gas marketed production for the week ending July 17 was 115.1 billion cfd compared to 114.3 billion cfd for the same week last year.
Texas crude production was 5.6 million b/d in June (1.9 percent increase from June 2023), and the state’s natural gas marketed production was 32.2 billion cfd (increase of 1.7 percent).