Oil Exports Bring Boom Times To Texas Port

A surge in production in the Permian Basin of west Texas—-already the nation’s highest producing oilfield — is extracting more crude oil than refiners in Texas can handle. But now, producers in the Permian have new outlets for that oil with economic implications hundreds of miles away from the flatlands of west Texas. Based on crude oil export projections, port officials say they expect to add 5000 direct and indirect jobs in 2017. 

“This is not a bubble, this is real growth,” said vessel traffic controller Mike Stineman, as he scanned real time navigation charts indicating vessel traffic at the port. Radio chatter between vessels, the Coast Guard and the Vessel Control Center provided a non-stop soundtrack of the the pulse of the port. A longtime ban on U.S. crude exports was lifted last year.

Fracking And Survival In A West Texas Oil Field

The massive fall in the price of crude oil means hundreds of thousands of people are no longer working in the energy business and many small and mid-level energy companies are in a footrace against bankruptcy. While many oil fields have a seen oil production fall, the Permian Basin of west Texas, the nation’s highest-producing oilfield, is still increasing production.

Surviving The Oil Bust In West Texas

In every downturn, there are survivors who position themselves for recovery. The price of crude oil is down by more than 70 percent since the summer of 2014. Oil and gas companies once flush with cash have cut exploration and decommissioned up to two thirds of their rigs. Many companies have gone under and hundreds of thousands of people are out of job.

Slumping Oil Prices And A West Texas Downgrade

Nearly a dozen west Texas cities, counties, hospitals and school districts are facing the possibility of a bond credit downgrade in the coming months by Moody’s Investor Services, one of the country’s “Big Three” ratings firms. That because those local institutions rely on energy-related tax revenue, which has fallen precipitously. And the possibility of a bond downgrade is a threat facing other oil and gas states as well.

Mexico Ventures Into Oil Field Investments

The oil downturn has impacted many small and independent oil and gas companies’ bottom lines. It has also created opportunity for venture capitalists from this country and from others – such as China and Mexico – to snap up oil field bargains. Lorne Matalon reports on Mexican investors who are eyeing deals in the Permian Basin of West Texas.