The geological virtues of the Permian, along with an existing robust array of pipelines, have made the basin the cheapest to develop of any shale oil field in the country. Meanwhile, investments in oil production and pipeline building have met growing opposition from environmental groups in some parts of the country because of climate change. Utah colo. kan. Ariz. New Mexico Okla. Delaware Basin Texas Dallas Permian Basin Houston Mexico San Antonio 100 milesChevron, the second largest United States oil company after Exxon Mobil, is among the many companies funneling more money into drilling in the Permian. Many oil analysts had expected Exxon Mobil to make a major purchase while oil prices bottomed a year ago at less than $30 a barrel. The Bass family had tried to sell its private Permian companies for months, and oil analysts said Exxon Mobil finally moved before oil prices climbed any higher.

Source: New York Times January 18, 2017 00:11 UTC