Just got back from the Permian. The shallow wells were pumping away. I saw a few workover rigs in place, but a whole parking lot full of idle ones. Looked like there was steady business going on, and the malls were full (doing better than the Metroplex malls). The hotel folks indicated that they were full M-Th, but weekends were light. Compared to the early nineties, things looked prosperous but not ‘boom town’. Lots of oilfield truck traffic on the back roads.
On the other hand, in the Abilene/Sweetwater area, half of the wind turbines were idle on a 100 degree afternoon.
“On the other hand, in the Abilene/Sweetwater area, half of the wind turbines were idle on a 100 degree afternoon.”
Yeah, if you draw a square (area known to locals as The Big Empty) north from Abilene to Wichita Falls, westerly to Lubbock, south to Midland, east back to Abilene you’ll see more wind turbines than you ever knew existed. Looks like the Tom Cruise War of The Worlds movie set. In fact, there is a complex of huge power lines and a right of way running from this area back into the DFW Metroplx. Must of been some interesting eminent domain negotiations performed to get this done.