The Texas Permian Basin Petroleum Index rebounded from two months of declines to grow slightly to 347.9 in January 2019, according to Karr Ingham of Amarillo, economist who prepares the index for Texas Alliance of Energy Producers. The index peaked at 384.9 in November 2014 before falling to 210.1 in September 2016 (base 100 in January 1996). The January 2019 index is 17.2 percent above the index of 296.8 a year earlier.
In addition to stronger commodity prices, the latest index got a boost from employment of 44,370 in January 2019 – up 18.6 percent from 37,415 in January 2018. Oil production volumes continued to climb, the rig count has rebounded, and more drilling permits are being issued by Railroad Commission of Texas. A 40 percent decline in crude prices that began in mid-October and ended in late December helped lower the index in November and December.