The oil price crash that started in 2014 has affected not only corporate profits and drilling plans. It has had a huge economic impact on the areas around the U.S. shale plays. The 21 counties directly or indirectly involved in production of Eagle Ford in South Texas saw a record-high economic impact of US$123.3 billion in 2014. During the subsequent two years of low oil prices, Eagle Ford’s impact dropped to close to US$49.8 billion in 2016, a new report by the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) shows. The study “Economic Impact of the Eagle Ford Shale, Business Opportunities and the New Normal”, commissioned by the South Texas Energy and Economic Roundtable (STEER), shows just how much economic output the shale oil boom in the peak 2013-2014 years generated, and how much the subsequent oil price slump led to subdued drilling activity and lower economic impact. Most […]