The Future Of U.S. Energy, According To Donald Trump

With the help of a few more delegates from a handful of states, including North Dakota, Donald Trump finally gathered enough to clinch the republican nomination. And with that news, the official Republican Presidential nominee rolled into Bismarck, North Dakota on Thursday.

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.