The Texas upstream (exploration and production) oil and gas economy is in a mild state of contraction midway through 2019, according to Karr Ingham of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers and the creator of the Texas Petro Index.

Ingham said there are numerous headwinds to expansion at the midway point in 2019 including sluggish crude oil prices, the natural gas supply glut which is hampering further crude oil production development in Texas, the imposition of steel tariffs adding direct industry upstream costs, and the current trade environment which is slowing national and global economic growth.