Letter from Houston: Fiscal discipline has positives and negatives
No rush for a production rebound makes sense. But it may impact on the long-term attractiveness of a career in oil
The Texas oil industry—and production across much of the US more broadly—has, unsurprisingly, spent a year struggling to adjust for highly uncertain demand conditions. It still also bears the psychological scars of last year’s negative April WTI price. To briefly recap, overwhelming selling demand to close out long positions from paper traders unable to take delivery of physical barrels and a lack of Cushing tank capacity forced the expiring WTI futures contract to previously unseen lows. Physically traded WTI—along with other US grades, which often trade over the counter and share a positive correlation with WTI paper—also weakened considerably. As a reaction, according to the EIA, Lower-48
Also in this section
20 March 2026
Attacks on key oil and LNG assets across the Gulf mean a prolonged supply disruption, with damage to Qatar’s export capacity undermining confidence in the global gas system
20 March 2026
The US may be systemically stripping Russia of key geopolitical allies, but Moscow can reap rewards from the Hormuz crisis, both in the short and long term
20 March 2026
Disruptions to Qatari LNG exports have highlighted the risks of concentrated supply, potentially strengthening the long-term position of US exporters despite limited near-term flexibility
20 March 2026
The extent of the US-Israel war with Iran means there will be no going back to the previous market equilibrium no matter how the conflict ends






