Oil Wells Creeping Into Texas Cities Herald Shale Era's Twilight
The world can no longer rely on the Permian Basin to keep crude prices in check, with new wells pumping less oil per foot drilled.
An oil worker pauses while standing on Endeavor Energy Resources LP's Big Dog Drilling Rig 22 in the Permian Basin outside of Midland, Texas.
Photographer: Brittany SowackeEach morning when Michael Quinn pulls into the parking lot of the luxury apartment complex he manages in West Texas and looks across the street, an unsightly vision blots the horizon: a 24-foot-high insulated wall.
Quinn, who works at the Midway Station Apartments in Midland, isn't troubled by the eyesore. The barrier, covered in a sand-colored tarp, is designed to muffle noise from an oil-well site across the road. To Quinn, it's a symbol of a flourishing industry that's the lifeblood of the local economy.