The Permian Basin was once a hotbed of small, independent prospectors, wide-eyed wildcatters, and small companies hoping to strike it rich. Now, it is brimming with supermajors clamoring to buy out the region’s smaller operators and pump out the basin’s vast reserves of crude with the kind of breakneck efficiency that only massive corporate backing can achieve. Ten years ago, in 2008, United States oil production bottomed out at about 3.8 million barrels a day. Today, 3.8 million barrels are produced in a day in the Permian Basin alone.…
