Oil-producing states will face a big test this year of whether their economies are sufficiently diversified to cope with the dramatic fall in crude prices since last summer. States such as Texas, Louisiana, North Dakota and Alaska all benefited from historically high oil prices during the period from 2010-14, but they are now looking at the prospect of deficits running to billions of dollars. Budgets were based on oil price assumptions of $70 to $95 per barrel, which were viewed as conservative at the time.
展开▼
