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Oil prices surged past $100 this week.
But so far, inflated prices haven't inspired any meaningful increase in Texas oil production.
Over half of the energy companies that responded to a survey released last week by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said they plan to reduce or maintain existing drilling plans for this year. More than a quarter said they plan to increase production.
It's because high prices don't necessarily mean producers are ready to make the at least months-long commitment of putting more rigs in the ground, said Matt Bernstein, vice president of U.S. oil and gas for Rystad Energy.
No major producers have said they are going to increase production as a result of the war. An analysis from Citigroup said that some of America's biggest Texas producers – such as Houston-based oil giants Chevron, Exxon Mobil and Midland's Diamondback Energy – may still end up drilling more wells in the second half of the year and adding upwards of 100,000 barrels per day of additional output by 2027.
More on the dynamic within the Texas oil industry here via the Rachel Nostrant.
Who's Up, Who's Down
A daily stock market-style report on key players in Texas politics.
Up: Texas Capitol Building.
Three years of construction on the Texas Capitol's roof are finally coming to an end. The $25 million roof replacement is entering its final stages, allowing much of the scaffolding that has encased the building and ruined many a tourist photo to start coming down. Before work started in 2023, the 138-year old building had major roofing problems. During rainstorm, water often leaked through the ceiling and dripped into the House and Senate chambers. Building staff often positioned buckets around the chamber galleries to collect the rainwater. Officials with the Texas Preservation Board, which maintains the building, say there are still some smaller remaining tasks to finish in the attics and around the dome, but they require less scaffolding.
Down: Pam Bondi.
She's out as Attorney General. President Donald Trump announced on social media that she will be "transitioning to a much-needed and important new job in the private sector." Trump said current Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, will become the acting attorney general. Blanche was just in Texas last week, bragging at the Conservative Political Action Conference about having "cleaned house" of all people at the Department of Justice who had anything to do with prosecutions or investigations into Trump while he was out of office.
What do you think? Hit reply and let me know.
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What else is going on in Texas
 Photo by: Alex Brandon, AP |
President Donald Trump sought to explain his rationale for the war against Iran in a primetime address Wednesday. Read More |
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 Photo by: Karen Warren, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer |
Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will headline Texas A&M's civil dialogue symposium as faculty protest the system's approach to civic education. Read More |
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 Photo by: John Raoux, Associated Press |
NASA's Artemis II mission launched astronauts into deep space, testing systems needed for future moon landings and long-term exploration. Read More |
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 Photo by: Elizabeth Conley, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer |
Orlando Sanchez, former Harris County treasurer and Houston City Council member, is facing off against Warren Howell, a local businessman, in the Republican runoff for Harris County judge. Read More |
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 Photo by: Courtesy National Park Service |
Park officials blame a budget shortfall and "unforeseen challenges." The project had been in the works for years but had been repeatedly delayed. Read More |
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Pick of the day
Photo by: Houston Chronicle
On this week's Texas Take Podcast, I sit down for a 1-on-1 interview with State Sen. Nathan Johnson, where we talked about his campaign for attorney general, his double life writing music for Dragon Ball Z, and his concern over the calcification of power in the governor's office that he says would have alarmed the framers of the Texas Constitution. Also, reporter Benjamin Wermund joins the program to talk about how big a snub CPAC delivered to the presidential ambitions of Gov. Greg Abbott and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz last week. And did you see how voters in red counties out west are paying more for gas than drivers in Houston, Dallas and Austin? We dig into all of that, plus break down a debate on Capitol Hill over whether the U.S. should start mining the sea floor off the Gulf Coast for rare earth minerals. Disturbing the ocean floor? Isn't that how we got Godzilla? Check it out where ever you get your podcast, including now on YouTube.
What else I'm reading
When President Donald Trump last week signed an order to pay TSA agents during the partial government shutdown, it left Coast Guard, FEMA and other employees still without paychecks. But the Associated Press reports Trump on Thursday said he will soon sign an order to get them paid as well.
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