According to a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, the oil and gas industry in Texas has been a driver of the Texas economy for the past 40 years.

The report notes that Texas oil and gas activity rose from 2002 to 2008 as prices climbed from their lows in the late 1990s. “By 2008, oil and gas extraction had reached 11.4 percent of total Texas output,” the report states.

The report also indicates that the main driver of the Texas oil and gas industry came from the natural gas sector, specifically from the Barnett Shale: “In contrast to the energy sector’s heyday, natural gas rather than oil drove industry activity in Texas in the mid-2000s. Production of natural gas from shale, starting in the Barnett Shale west of Fort Worth, has been a major driver in the sector in the 2000s. The increase in activity was a boon to state and local economies. Severance taxes from natural gas reached $2.7 billion in 2008—almost twice the tax revenue generated by oil production and a record high even after adjusting for inflation.”

Read the entire report on the Reserve’s website.