Oil and gas companies needed more help than nearly any other part of Texas’ economy, leading them to obtain more Paycheck Protection Program money than any sector except restaurants.
Nearly one-third of the top 100 PPP loans in that state went to oil and gas companies, the Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday.
“Besides the service sector, I’m not sure there’s any industry impacted more than oil and gas. Companies have just been devastated by the demand destruction caused by COVID-19,” Ed Longanecker, president of the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association, told the Chronicle. He said the industry expects to lose 55,000 jobs in Texas alone this year.
Enervest, a privately-held oil and gas producer, received $10 million through the program after selling its South Texas fields for $2.7 billion in 2018.
Read more at the Houston Chronicle.