A new report tells the story of how essential the oil and natural gas industry is to Oklahoma and how it is positioned to be the key to our state’s well-being in the future.
The report, completed by RegionTrack, Inc. for the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board (OERB), has compelling numbers. For example, during the pandemic and the economic slowdown in 2020, the industry still created $19 billion in state gross domestic product (GDP) and $16.5 billion in household earnings, supporting tens of thousands of families and small businesses. That includes 145,000 skilled and high-paying jobs.
Oklahoma’s oil and natural gas industry is by far the largest taxpayer in the state. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the industry paid $2.66 billion in business taxes in 2020.
“When you look at the industry’s contributions to Oklahoma, the numbers tell a story everyone in the state needs to know,” said OERB Chairman David Le Norman. “The people of Oklahoma oil and natural gas are made up of your neighbors, friends and family. We are proud of what we do for the state and are invested in its future.”
These dollars are making a big impact on the local level too, with $410 million in ad valorem taxes in 2020 and $720 million in severance taxes in 2021. The oil and natural gas industry is the only major source of earmarked taxes that provide direct funding for uses like education and county roads. Over the past decade, $2.1 billion in funds have been apportioned for education, an average of more than 200 million annually. School districts in 24 counties, many rural, have received more than $1 million from industry severance taxes each year for the past decade.
Download the topline report here or the full report here, oerb.com/economic-impact.