Permian Basin Discovery Great News for Texas

Tuesday, September 27th, 2016 and is filed under Oil and Gas Current Events, Permian Basin Oil News

From natural resources to rapidly growing economies, there’s a reason the Lone Star State has so much to offer. And now, the Apache Corporation, a Houston-based oil exploration company, is the latest to discover one more thing to love: an enormous oil store in the Permian Basin. Discovered while drilling on land purchased by the company over the last several years, initial reports provide a rosy picture into what this unique geological formation has in store.

Big News in Oil and Gas

As U.S. oil interests shift from overseas to domestic resources, any oil discovery is a good oil discovery. With the potential to provide hundreds to thousands of jobs for both trained and untrained labor alike, a new find means only positive things for both the local and national economies.

The size of the discovery is one for the record books – Apache is claiming over three billion barrels of oil and 75 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, one of the largest finds in recent history. This amount, roughly the equivalent of an entire year of crude oil production in the United States, is virtually unprecedented in recent history, providing untold benefits to the Texas economy.

A Landmark Discovery

The Permian Basin is among Texas’ most remote landmarks. A sedimentary basin stretching 250 miles wide and 300 miles long, this unique formation is primarily located in southwestern Texas with several dozen miles extending into southeastern New Mexico. Largely uninhabited due to harsh climates with just over 500,000 total residents, the Permian Basin is the perfect place for additional oil stores.

Despite the present excitement, Apache Corporation’s discovery is multiple years in the making. Over time, the company has purchased over 307,000 contiguous acres in the Basin in hopes of an outcome just like this one. At the cost of roughly $1,300 per acre, the investment was pricey but worth it. Naming the new plane Alpine High, the untapped potential for oil and gas retrieval in Texas is now beyond even what industry experts foresaw.

Texas and Oil Drilling

Texas has long been a destination for domestic drilling, making this discovery less surprising than it could be. The oil boom started in the early twentieth century, and Texas was one of the first states depended on upon for domestic oil production. By the end of World War Two, the vast oil reserves discovered across the region led to rapid development, creating cities out of small farming towns and developing the area’s overall economy. Apache’s latest find helps keeps this enduring legacy alive, adding a new chapter to the Permian Basin’s already legendary history of pumping domestic oil.

Apache struck gold with their Texas land purchase, driving interest in other such companies eager to do the same. By discovering the billions of barrels’ worth of oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, the future of mining and refining in Texas is brighter than ever. While there’s no guarantee that additional such stores exist, the climate, terrain, and successful drilling expeditions of the past make the possibility extremely likely. With the potential to continue to provide jobs, resources, and economic development to Texans and residents of other Southwestern states, the drive for discovery in the Permian Basin continues.

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