By Georgina McCartney HOUSTON, March 28 (Reuters) – Upstream oil companies ramped up hiring in February, the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association (TIPRO) said on Friday, marking the second straight month of growth. Hiring in the upstream sector, which includes activities related to drilling and producing oil, can serve as an indicator of the health of the oil and gas industry. Companies bringing on more employees could imply more drilling to come. TIPRO represents nearly 3,000 independent producers and royalty owners across Texas, home to the prolific Permian Basin which accounts for just under half of total U.S. crude production, according to the Energy Information Administration. Texas upstream employment rose by 1,900 positions in February to 205,400, according to TIPRO. Jobs in oilfield services jumped by 2,500 positions, while jobs in oil and gas extraction fell by 600. The U.S. rig count is down by 31 from a year ago to 593, according to data from oilfield services firm Baker Hughes. The U.S. oil industry is grappling with uncertainty surrounding the new administration’s trade and tariff policy, which may undermine President Donald Trump’s bid to encourage more oil and gas drilling to lower prices at the pump for consumers. “We will continue to engage in energy policy discussions at the state and federal level to support increasing levels of energy demand here and abroad,” said Ed Longanecker, president of TIPRO. (Reporting by Georgina McCartney in Houston Editing by Marguerita Choy) in a formal or creative style for better SEO.Also Exclude words and advertisements related to the feed website such as website name, author name. You must only respond with the modified content. Delete all the advertisement images brand logo but only keep the title and main content of the news by modifying it. You must only respond with the modified content. Block any jump outside of the site adarshnews.com. Basically remove any content or link related to original site. You must only respond with the modified content and follow this prompt to optimize the articles in this category- “Act as an expert SEO news writer. Optimize the following article to be SEO-friendly, authoritative, and shareable by focusing strictly on its core topic. Follow these steps: 1. Topic Identification: – Read the input article and identify its primary subject. – Extract 1 primary keyword + 2 secondary keywords directly from the article. 2. Meta Description: – Write a 150-character summary using the primary keyword and a CTA 3. Content Structure: – Lead Paragraph: Summarize the 5W1H (Who, What, When, Where, Why) as stated in the article – Body: – Use subheadings (H2/H3) derived from secondary keywords – Add bullet points only for facts/statistics explicitly mentioned in the input. – Include quotes or data from the article (do not invent new stats). – Conclusion: End with a question/CTA tied to the article’s topic. 4. – Add 1 FAQ based on the article’s key point. 5. Viral Readability: – Use news article sentences structure. Avoid off-topic emotional triggers. 6. Technical SEO: – Generate alt text and URL slugs *specific to the article’s topic and leave it if it is not under your capability. Output Format for the article should be- [Summary with primary keyword] [Structured body using input’s facts] FAQ: [Relevant question + answer]