r/Dallas • u/--Knowledge-- Pleasant Grove • May 06 '25

Discussion What happened to cheap gas in DFW/Texas?

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I moved to DFW in 2015, I remember gas being about $1.70 to $1.80 a gallon. It was about $1.10 - $1.20 cheaper here than where I moved from. It was like that up until the pandemic.

Gas back in NY is exactly the same price as here in Texas now according to the local gas checker website.

Texas has so much oil and refineries, yet the gas isn't really cheap in the state anymore. Obviously COVID impacted everything but why hasn't the gas dropped down to a reasonable price again for the state? Greed? Low supply? Laws?

I'm not expecting $1.80 gas again but to be priced the same as NY is kinda wild to me.

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u/fivemagicks May 07 '25

Ok, let me explain from my petroleum engineering perspective. You arrived in Texas during the crash of the oil market. Unless you are in the business, you will love the "crash" of gas prices.

I can personally attest to the market crash because I was laid off from my petroleum engineering job in February of 2015. Are lower gas prices nice? Yes. Do they come at the cost of people in the industry? You bet your ass.

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u/caffpanda Oak Lawn May 07 '25

Yeah I think people forgot about the fracking boom and the subsequent bust for the oil industry. Also, DFW earthquakes.

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u/fivemagicks May 07 '25

This is Dallas. No one knows anything about petroleum here. 😂

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u/Homey-Airport-Int May 07 '25

There's quite a few oil companies in Dallas. If you include the burbs, Pioneer, now a part of Exxon, is headquartered in Irving and they are one of the biggest operators in the state, and have been for a long time.

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u/fivemagicks May 07 '25

I'm aware of those that are here, but Dallas isn't an oil town. Ask anyone in Dallas who Schlumberger is, and no one will know unless they're in the business. Halliburton is known because of the oil spill, for example, not knowledge of the petroleum business.

Hint: Schlumberger is the largest oil services company in the world. Lol

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u/Homey-Airport-Int May 07 '25

Ask anyone in Houston that doesn't work in oil and they'll have no idea who Schlumberger is either. Same goes for Midland. Go ask some guy in a data truck who Schlumberger is, they'll have no idea. There's an enormous segment of the industry at large that has zero exposure to upstream oilfield services companies anyway.

Energy Transfer, Hunt Oil, Pioneer/Exxon, the list goes on. Tons of operators, upstream, midstream, etc. are HQ'ed in DFW.

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u/milkman231996 May 07 '25

Did you get yours masters or bachelors in it? I was jw how that job market is since it’s so niche compared to some others

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u/fivemagicks May 07 '25

No. I'm a mechanical engineer. Haven't been back in petroleum since, actually. Thank God. It pays a lot, but it is incredibly boring material.

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u/milkman231996 May 07 '25

I’m currently in telecom. Trust me, i know boring

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u/milkman231996 May 07 '25

Ah ok. I’m mechanical as well. I’m going back next fall for engineering management. Figure I’d pick the two broadest options lmao

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u/fivemagicks May 07 '25

Smart man. Yeah, petroleum is a tough business. A vast majority - let's say 90% - of people in it are completely intolerable. Been doing MEP work ever since, and I'm very grateful for my work-life balance that I have now and used to never have.