The latest Wyoming Insight report for September 2024, released by state officials, highlights mixed trends in the state’s energy and economic sectors, Uinta County Herald reports.
Natural gas prices saw a modest increase, while oil prices dropped to their lowest levels of the year.
In September, the price of natural gas at Wyoming’s Opal Hub averaged $1.86 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), an increase of $0.29 from the previous month. Nationally, the Henry Hub price for natural gas averaged $2.28/MMBtu, a rise of $0.30 compared to August.
Oil prices, however, experienced a significant decline. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) monthly average price for crude oil was $70.24 per barrel, 21.5% lower than the same period last year and the lowest price seen in 2024. Despite the drop, Wyoming saw a total of 18 active oil and gas rigs, the highest rig count since October 2023, with 13 oil rigs and five conventional gas rigs operating in the state.
In terms of tax revenue, total sales and use tax collections for September amounted to $90.5 million, marking a 3.1% increase compared to the same month last year. This improvement was primarily driven by wind power projects, according to Dylan Bainer, principal economist for Wyoming’s Economic Analysis Division. Wholesale trade collections saw the largest growth, rising 109.5% year-over-year, while collections from the mining sector fell by 26.1%.
Employment data for the state also showed modest growth. Wyoming had a total of 293,600 jobs in August 2024, an increase of 1,700 jobs (+0.6%) from the previous year. However, employment in the mining sector dropped by 400 jobs, reflecting a 2.3% decrease year-over-year.
The full Wyoming Insight report for September 2024 is available on the Wyoming Economic Analysis Division’s website.
