A plain overview of the Permian Basin: where it is, how it got its name, its sub-basins, and its place in United States oil and gas.
The Permian Basin is a large oil and gas producing region in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. It is one of the most productive oil regions in the United States, and the companies in this directory work across it.
Where it is
The Permian Basin sits in the western part of Texas and crosses into southeastern New Mexico. Its best-known hubs are Midland and Odessa in Texas, along with towns such as Pecos and Andrews, and Hobbs and Carlsbad on the New Mexico side.
How it got its name
The basin is named after the Permian geologic period. The rock layers that hold its oil and gas were deposited during that period, hundreds of millions of years ago, when the region was covered by a shallow sea.
The sub-basins
The Permian is not a single formation but a set of connected basins. The three most commonly referenced areas are:
- The Delaware Basin, on the western side, extending into New Mexico.
- The Midland Basin, on the eastern side, in Texas.
- The Central Basin Platform, the uplifted area that separates the two.
A long history
Oil has been produced in the Permian since the 1920s. Activity expanded significantly in the 2010s as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing made the region's shale and tight-rock formations economic to develop, and it remains a central source of United States oil and natural gas production today.
Looking for companies working the basin? Browse the directory or browse by town.