Texas Landmen Left Out of Work as Oil Patch Boom Turns Bust
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Thousands of Texans who prowled county courthouses, poring over dusty deeds and maps to cash in on the biggest oil boom in decades, are seeing their work go bust.
Land managers, or landmen as they’re known, are part of a once dying oil patch profession resurrected when production soared. With the price of crude close to a six-year low at about $47 a barrel, less than half what it was nine months ago, they’re among the first to be hit by an energy-industry rout cascading through the economy.