Economics
‘Crisis of Shock’: Virus, Price War Rock Texas Shale Heartland
- Texas may see growth rate halved this year, forecasts show
- Weakness may help Trump’s Democrat opponent in Lone Star State
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Just last week, when crude oil prices fell to $46 a barrel, the mayor of the biggest city in the world’s largest shale oil patch seemed oddly calm, almost relieved.
Midland, in the heart of the Permian Basin in Texas, could use something of a slowdown, Patrick Payton figured, after breakneck growth had stretched services so thin that the police force could barely keep cops on the beat. Then a couple days passed, and the digital sign downtown that flashes the current oil price read -- suddenly -- $30. Payton could hardly take it in.