By KATIE LACKEY
Student Writer
She had just landed her first well-paying job.
Chelsea Bryant, a senior business administration major from Hope, Kansas, was hired on by TNT Safety Services as a gate guard in June of 2014. Her job was to monitor the entry and exit of an oil location as well as sign tickets and make sure employees had their safety equipment. Bryant’s beloved job came to an end in February of 2015. The drop in oil prices was the only reason she was given before being laid off.
Oil prices have been dropping because of supply and demand, said Clifford Krauss in a New York Times article. In the last several years, United States oil production has nearly doubled, pushing out the usual oil imports from countries such as Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Algeria.
Oil prices began their downward trend in late 2014. “The first and most noticeable [repercussion of the recent decline in oil prices] is employment, with more than 13,000 job cuts here in Oklahoma and more on the way,” said David Kimmel, who has worked as director of communications for SandRidge for the past nine years.
Bryant knows firsthand about this effect. Her loss of a job caused her to have to switch houses and get a roommate in order to reduce costs. She also had a truck payment that still needed to be made every month.
“It was a struggle to find a job after being laid off,” she said. “I had previously waited tables, so I had experience, but I knew that would not pay near as well. I didn’t have my bachelor’s degree yet either so that made it even more of a struggle.”
Oil companies and those associated with it are not the only ones affected by falling oil prices.
“You’ll begin to see reduced capital expenditures by companies of all sizes,” Kimmel said. “One of the more obvious far reaching consequences is currently being witnessed at the state capital as our leaders seek alternatives for dealing with reduced tax revenue.”
Even a local shop in Alva has felt the effects of the drop in oil prices. Will Fox, an employee at The Sandwich Shop for two years, has watched business slowly decline. Fox said not only has the shop seen fewer oil field workers come in, but now the regulars are coming in less often.
Fox said even with business being slow, they still use the same quality products to make sandwiches. Is there any talk of the Sandwich Shop closing? “Not right now; we are still solvent, thankfully,” Fox said reassuringly.
What will be the solution to the current economic woes in Oklahoma? “Different people will offer different answers about the future of the oil market,” Kimmel said. “Prices will return to a level that makes sense for operators to explore and produce oil and natural gas. When that will be, however, is unknown.”
Bryant said she learned some important lessons from her experience. “After working for an oil company, it really showed me how thing can change very quickly,” Bryant said. “Another thing that I learned from working in the oil field is that it is always good to save your money because you never know when you might not have a job.”