The Permian Basin

NEWS

August 20, 2012: The resurrection of the Permian Basin, Motley Fool.

The Permian Basin recently achieved a milestone that went almost unnoticed by many investors active in the energy sector.  The rig count in this basin moved above 500 rigs during the second quarter of 2012, passing levels reached during the energy boom of the early 1980s.  This is an extraordinary event for the Permian Basin, which was once disdained by many as a mature oil and gas producing area that had little value.

So, this is an old, old field, and now has more rigs than during the energy boom of the early 1980's.

And folks think the 5-year-old Bakken boom in North Dakota is a flash in the pan.

My favorite (as a company to watch, not necessarily as an investment) in the Permian:

Whiting Petroleum  has a smaller development program in the Permian Basin and plans to spend $97 million, or 5% of its capital budget here in 2012.  These funds will cover the drilling of 19 wells during the year.  Most of the company’s acreage in the Permian Basin is located at the Big Tex prospect in Texas where Whiting Petroleum has almost 88,000 net acres under lease. The company is targeting the Upper Wolfcamp formation on this acreage.

The Permian Basin

All you need to know about it: Texas panhandle, old, vertical wells, resurgence, Whiting's Wolfcamp formation