Texas led the United States in terms of natural gas output in 2022, with the state breaking its own production record, contributing to millions of jobs as well as billions of dollars in state tax revenues.
Employment, Taxes
The Texas oil and gas sector contributed to 347,828 direct industry employment in 2022, up by 24,731 jobs from the previous year. California was the second largest employer in the sector with 80,772 jobs.Total direct and indirect employment in the sector stood at 2.6 million jobs in Texas. The average annual wage of the industry in the state was $139,061, which is 103 percent higher than the average private sector wage in Texas.
The total direct gross regional product (GRP) for the Texas oil and gas sector was $323 billion, accounting for 16 percent of the state’s economy.
The industry paid a record $24.7 billion in state taxes as well as state royalty payments last year. These taxes funded Texas’s investments in schools, first responders, transportation infrastructure, and so on, said the report.
According to the Texas Oil and Gas Association (TXOGA), the $24.7 billion in tax payments beat the previous record of over $16 billion in 2019 by 54 percent. The $24.7 billion payments translate to around $67 million in funds available for the state per day to use in various activities.
US Natural Gas Situation
TIPRO predicts natural gas production in the United States to continue climbing, driven by production in the Permian Basin region that covers West Texas and southeast New Mexico.Pointing out that expansion projects to boost pipeline infrastructure have played a “major role” in increasing the domestic production of natural gas, the organization stressed that it is important for regulators and lawmakers to support the pipeline expansion in the country.
“Without adequate takeaway capacity, such as new pipelines, producers cannot safely increase production to meet rising demand,” the report warned.
The Biden administration has been under fire from the energy industry for adopting an antagonist attitude against the sector. During a rally in November, President Joe Biden remarked that “there is no more drilling. I haven’t formed any new drilling,” a statement that attracted criticism from the industry.
That same month, a nonprofit group representing workers from the energy industry asked House Republicans to target the Biden administration’s climate policies that have hampered the extraction and development of fossil fuels.