Permian Basin Drilling Picking Up

The Odessa American reports on Permian Basin drilling activity which is on the upswing with new hiring reported.

…numbers are quickly approaching the 312 permits the commission issued in July 2008, when oil prices reached an all-time high of more than $147 a barrel. They are well above the 139 permits issued in May 2009.

“Things are slowly but surely coming back,” said Ben Shepperd, executive vice president of the Permian Basin Petroleum Association. “People are starting to hire ever since oil and gas prices started to increase.”

Several companies are starting to see the results of oil prices reaching the $80 per barrel range. Midland-based Concho Resources Inc. announced last week that it was spending $260 million to buy drilling sites in the Wolfberry Play in the Permian Basin, which is a combination of the Wolfcamp and Spraberry formations. The company also planned to add four new drilling rigs by the end of the second quarter.

Another company, Berry Petroleum of Denver, announced recently that it planned to spend $126 million on West Texas drilling sites.

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