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SAN ANTONIO - Covid-19 has delivered a blow to many industries. The entertainment, restaurant and hospitality sectors have taken a dive for the worst.

Including Texas, the nation's top producer of crude oil and natural gas, is tipping the scales - in the wrong direction.

"The oil and gas industry has a big impact on the budget for the state of Texas," says Rep. Henry Cuellar. "They have a budget deficit because of the oil and gas industry."

According to the U.S. Energy Department, oil prices were in the negatives just months ago.

"We have a market where demand is just very, very depressed and that’s really at the core of the problem," says Taylor Collins with the UIW economics department. "The demand for oil and gas is at extraordinarily low levels."

But the battle to produce a feasible Covid vaccine is seeing progress. And some experts are hoping a vaccine will mean people will start traveling again.

More travel by car or by plane means more use of oil and fuel which could be a good thing for the airlines industry which reported more than $10 billion losses at the end of its third quarter.

But the experts are saying the nation really won't see the recovery or the take off of the energy industry until the end of 2021.

"Even when demand starts to recover they’re still going to be selling from inventory which is going to keep that depressed, downward pressure on production and on prices," says Collins.

Collins says ultimately the start of recovery will depend on if consumers want to travel right now.

"Not yet, perhaps later on six months to a year maybe," says Jesse Alcantar, a San Antonio resident.

"I’m a little hesitant about it, but if there’s a vaccine I think it'd be good," says Melanie Roman, another San Antonio resident.

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