Texas Oil and Gas Rig Count Continues Decline

The Texas oil & gas industry has been hard hit by the drop in crude oil prices. As of June 5 the Texas oil & gas rig count is 364, down from 891 rigs a year ago, or a drop of idle 518 rigs.

On the other hand few are aware that low natural gas prices are creating a boom in petrochemical facilities. The reason for such activity is the Potential Gas Committee (PGC) now estimates the US has 2.515 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of technically recoverable natural gas.

For example, in Brazoria County alone there are about $31 billion dollars in petrochemical facilities under or planned construction. These projects will require over 19,000 construction jobs; create 1,633 direct jobs, and generate an additional 7,401 direct and indirect jobs.

These petrochemical facilities will include ammonia production facilities, propane dehydrogenation plant, ethylene cracker, polyethylene units, LPG terminal, etc. This also includes $14 billion in LNG facilities. Very few understand the scope of this economic boom and how long lasting it will be for the Texas petrochemical industry.

Obviously, there are other areas on the Texas Gulf Coast with new or expanding petrochemical facilities. These Brazoria County figures were provided by the City of Freeport, for additional information contact email:lstrahan@freeport.tx.us.