Growing pains for the Permian
The Permian is primed for years of booming production—if a range of infrastructure problems can be solved
Vast tight oil reserves, improving fracking techniques and attractive economics are pulling in tens of billions of dollars of new investment. Output just passed 3m barrels a day, up 1m b/d in just 18 months, and much more is in the pipeline. The top four investors—ExxonMobil, Chevron, Pioneer Natural Resources and Concho Resources, which is trying to takeover RSP Permian in a $9.5bn deal—alone have mapped out production growth of more than 2m b/d of oil by the mid-2020s. The dozens of smaller companies operating in the basin have their own ambitious plans. "It's easy to plot a path to 7m b/d," Pioneer's chief executive Tim Dove told a gathering of investors at an event hosted by the Independ
Also in this section
23 January 2025
The end of transit, though widely anticipated, leaves Europe paying a third more for gas than a year ago and greatly exposed to supply shocks
23 January 2025
The country’s government and E&P companies are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to increase domestic crude output as BP–ONGC tie-up leads the way
22 January 2025
The return of Donald Trump gives further evidence of ‘big oil’ as an investable asset, with the only question being whether anyone is really surprised
21 January 2025
The new president must put his cards on the table and tell the American people, and the world, if the US is formally abandoning the energy transition
