This will be an interesting test for how much of TX/OK's growth is due to it's "free market policies" and how much is due to the oil boom. My guess is that the Midwest/Northeast may start to outperform parts of the oil belt in economic growth again due to this.
The new price isn't really low enough to hurt the existing Texas oil economy in a major way, because oil production in that region will continue turning a profit at any price above ~$50/barrel. The only large-scale operations in the US that cost more than $70/barrel to produce are the deepwater rigs and some of the outer segments of the Bakken field in ND.
Exactly. A lot of the Texas oil economy is in the processing market, too. Crude from around the world is shipped to Texas to be turned into refined fuels, plastics, and other products. Cheaper oil is good for such activities
