Boom-and-Bust Oil Puts Houston at Center of Real Estate Crisis

President Donald Trump is championing a revival of American fossil fuels with calls to “drill baby drill.” But in the US energy capital, a pullback in the industry has already left its mark.

Houston office buildings once packed with oil executives, engineers and energy traders are now marked by darkened floors and fewer desks. A wave of consolidation — with more than $450 billion of oil and natural gas deals since the start of 2023 — has led companies to cut jobs and abandon corporate campuses.