Texas is bracing for another oil bust, reports CNBC.The continued global oil-supply glut will likely weigh on Texas and the rest of the U.S. next year. But the latest crude-oil crash may not inflict as much damage as past downturns. Many parts of the state have now diversified away from crude-based economies.
It might be said that the Texas oil industry has been a victim of its own success. After an industry-wide decline in the 80s and 90s, oil and gas saw a resurgence. Over the past decade, the industry came roaring back thanks to new seismic and drilling technologies. Decades-old fields, once left for dead, began producing oil again thanks to the controversial process known as “fracking.” The resulting market saturation has sent prices plunging to less than a third of 2014’s peak levels. As global stockpiles continue to build, there's little sign that prices will rise again anytime soon.