Permian Basin oil field

The Permian Basin is a large sedimentary basin in western Texas and southeastern New Mexico, in the southwestern United States. It is the highest-producing oil region in the country, and in 2019 it produced an average of about 4.2 million barrels of crude oil per day. It covers more than 220,000 square kilometres, about 400 km wide and 480 km long.

It is named after the Permian period, the last period of the Paleozoic era, because it holds some of the thickest rock layers from that time. The Texas cities of Midland, Odessa and San Angelo are headquarters for much of the oil work. It is also a major source of potash, used in fertiliser.

A basin of basins

The Permian Basin is made up of smaller basins. The Midland Basin is the largest, the Delaware Basin is the second largest, and the Marfa Basin is the smallest. Between the Delaware and Midland basins lies the Central Basin Platform, a raised block of old rock topped by a carbonate platform. The rock layers hold sandstone, siltstone and ancient reef deposits.

Oil and salt

Oil from this region makes the basin the top producer of the United States. Prudhoe Bay in Alaska is bigger by area, but the Permian Basin is the largest by reserves. The basin is also a source of potassium salts, called potash. Potash mines in Lea and Eddy counties, New Mexico, use the room-and-pillar method, and rock salt is produced as a by-product.

On the globe

Look for western Texas and southeastern New Mexico in the southwestern United States.