AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 16 (UPI) — The Railroad Commission of Texas said the number of drilling permits issued in August was down more than half from the same month last year.
The commission, the state’s energy regulator, issued 864 drilling permits in August, of which 730 were for new wells. The rest were for re-entry into existing oil or gas wells. There were 2,440 well permits issued in August 2014.
Low crude oil prices mean energy companies have less capital to invest in exploration and production, a trend reflected in the fewer number of rigs active in U.S. shale basins.
Data published Friday from oilfield services company Baker Hughes show U.S. drillers pulling back on rig activity for the second straight week. Drillers for the week ending Sept. 11 cut rig activity in the Eagle Ford and Permian shale basins in Texas, the Niobrara shale in Colorado and the Bakken shale in North Dakota.
Texas, the No. 1 oil producer in the nation, lost the most rigs last week with a net decline of nine. With 366 active rigs for the week ending Sept. 11, Texas is home to about 43 percent of rigs deployed across the United States.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in a short-term market report total crude oil production will decline 4.3 percent from expected full-year 2015 levels to 8.8 million barrels per day by 2016.
EIA revised how it compiles data last month, leading it to recalculate early 2015 production figures. Monthly production figures for January through March were revised downward by 23 percent.
“The largest revisions include decreases of crude oil production in Texas,” EIA’s report read.
For the economy, a so-called Beige Book published by the Dallas Federal Reserve said growth has been developing at a modest pace since late July. Activity in the real estate sector was strong, and manufacturing demand was mixed.
“Price pressures remained subdued, and employment held steady or increased,” the bank said. “Outlooks were mostly positive, except in the energy sector.”
