This Is Why U-Haul Trailer Lots Are Overwhelmed In Texas -- July 18, 2018

I'm hoping some of the local television networks pick up on the U-Haul story. It would make a great visual. All those U-Haul truck- and trailer-lots overflowing with orange-and-white U-Hauls.

I knew the US was going to become #1 in crude oil production, but I completely missed this story.

A sharp-eyed reader caught it.

Texas is about to overtake both Iran and Iraq in crude oil production. In doing so, Texas will become the world's third-largest crude oil producer. And that's despite the lack of takeaway capacity that is gumming up the works. From The Hill:

Texas's oil industry is set to surpass Iraq and Iran to become the third-largest oil producing region in the world, behind only Russia and Saudi Arabia.

CNN Money reports that HSBC Bank predicted in a recent report that the state's explosive growth in oil production over the last two years could result in Texas passing the two Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members as oil prices rise around the world.

"It's remarkable. The [Permian Basin oil field] is nothing less than a blessing for the global economy," Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Energy Group, told CNN.

The surge in production comes just two years after the oil fields in Texas were seeing much lower production levels at the tail end of the Obama administration, according to CNN.

"In 2014, it was amazing. 2016 was down in the dumps. Two years later, it's back to crazy," Texas railroad commissioner Ryan Sitton told the news network.

Production cutbacks in Russia and OPEC nations have also led to a rise in U.S. oil prices, a boon for the economy as companies in Texas struggle to find qualified workers and the infrastructure required to support the surge.

"To say there's a shortage of bodies is an understatement," Jeff Bush, president of CSI Recruiting president, told CNN. He said lower production under the Obama administration had left companies struggling to adjust to the economic boom in time.

And if it's on CNN, it must be true. LOL.

Much more at the link. 

By the way, I have not posted it, but a very, very credible roughneck with decades of experience comments at another oil blog. He suggests, with some authority, that the Paradox Basin will be even bigger than the Permian. For those who have forgotten, the most productive onshore well drilled in 2012 was in the Paradox Basin. The Paradox Basin is "on hold" for various reasons.

Peak oil? I don't think so.