Oil's Collapse Hurting States That Were Counting on $50-a-Barrel
- Energy behind strains in at least five of 11 states, S&P says
- Louisiana, Alaska, Oklahoma among those feeling it most
Tesoro Oil Refinery, Anacortes, Washington State, USA
Photographer: Kevin Schafer/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
When Louisiana, one of the nation’s biggest energy-producing states, decided how much tax money the government would have to spend this year, it forecast that the price of oil would be almost $50 a barrel. It’s since tumbled to below $32, casting economic ripples that helped create a $750 million budget shortfall.
The price of crude, which is recovering from a 12-year low, has emerged as a major source of fiscal strain on the nation’s oil-patch states, none of which predicted how swift or deep the drop would be. That’s prompted a reversal-of-fortune in capitals that once reaped revenue windfalls from America’s energy-industry renaissance and are now racing to adjust.