Oil and gas activity cooled in the fourth quarter as energy executives expressed pessimism about their companies’ outlooks, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said Wednesday.
Nearly half of oil executives surveyed by the Dallas Fed this month said their companies’ outlooks have worsened during 2025 compared with last year, marking the third straight quarter that industry leaders reported a negative outlook as low oil prices take a toll.
Some of the regional survey’s findings seem to stand in direct contrast with how oil and gas executives, lobbyists and trade groups characterize the industry’s health and performance during the Trump administration. Benchmark U.S. oil has been trading this week for less than $60 a barrel.
“Decreasing oil prices are making many of our firm’s wells noneconomic,” one unnamed executive wrote in the new survey.
