Texas crude oil production down from last year

AUSTIN, Texas, July 28 (UPI) -- Total crude oil production in Texas recorded nearly a 3 percent decline year-on-year for May, a state energy regulator reported.

The Railroad Commission of Texas, the state's energy regulator, said that overall crude oil production was lower than last year.

"Texas preliminary May 2016 crude oil production averaged 2,359,072 barrels daily, compared to the 2,429,347 barrels daily average of May 2015," the commission said.

Texas is the No. 1 oil producer in the country and witnessed financial pressures because of the downturn in crude oil prices. With the market showing some level of relative stability during the second quarter, the number of rigs in service in Texas is on the rise.

The Railroad Commission said May crude oil production came from 185,190 wells, but it provided no metric for comparison. The price for crude oil May 1 was $34.39 per barrel.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas reported this week that the overall economy in the state had improved, though unemployment rates moved slightly higher in June. Its employment forecast for the year showed an expected 0.5 percent increase in employment, down from the previous forecast of 1.3 percent.

Despite a price recovery from May to June, the Dallas bank noted crude oil prices were still down in June by 18.5 percent year-on-year.

This week, Karr Ingham, an economist who created a metric gauging the health of the Texas energy sector, said state oil production is lagging behind trends in crude oil prices. In an emailed report, he cautioned that state energy sector recovery would be "frustratingly slow."