As 2014 comes to a close, the oil and gas industry in Texas faces many challenges but none bigger than the decline in the price of crude oil and the failure of natural gas prices to rebound. The Texas Petro Index increased month after month in 2014, setting a new record each month until November when the slide in oil prices began. The TPI expanded for 58 consecutive months reaching a high of 312.9 in October. “The decline of the TPI from October to November likely marks the high point of the expansion of the upstream oil and gas economy that began in December 2009 and signals the onset of a significant cyclical contraction,” said Karr Ingham, the economist who created the TPI and updates it monthly. “If October […]