SAN ANTONIO, TX / ACCESSWIRE / May 16, 2018 / - Currently the most sought after and exciting area of upstream activity in North America is West Texas' Permian Basin. Since 2013, production from the basin has increased from roughly 1.35 million barrels per day to over 2.4 million barrels per day in July 2017, amounting to about 45 percent of the total oil production for all onshore wells in the lower 48 states. Brian Alfaro, the President and CEO of Texas-based energy and petroleum company Silver Star Resources, recently discussed the massive impact the Permian Basin has on the Texas economy.
From a global perspective, the Permian's output of 2.4 million barrels per day is greater than that of many historical oil powerhouses, including Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar and Venazuela. On a national scale, Brian Alfaro said that the Permian Basin generated over $25.6 billion in deals last year, accounting for roughly 41 percent of all upstream value. The bulk of those deals were in the region's Delaware Basin, which research firm PLS reports attracted $18 billion in investment, while the Midland Basin generated over $9 billion. To put those numbers into perspective, Alfaro explained that with the amount spent on acquisitions in the Permian, 22 of the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium - which cost $1.2 billion to build - could be constructed. Compared to other shale plays in the United States, the Permian saw the most investment by far -- $25 billion in merger and acquisition activity, compared to $5.1 billion in the SCOOP/STACK of Oklahoma; $1.9 billion in the Niobrara of Colorado and Wyoming; and $2.1 billion in the Bakken of North Dakota and Montana.
In terms of capital expenditure or capex -- the funds a company uses to acquire or upgrade physical assets such as equipment, property or facilities -- the money flowing into the region is substantial. According to an IHS Markit report, capex in the Permian reached $8 billion. This figure includes over $900 million in investment from Apache, and over $1.2 billion from producer Occidental - an investment so large it accounted for about 60 percent of the company's total capital expenditure. More impressive still, according to Alfaro, is that capex in the Permian is expected to increase to over $40 billion in 2021. Looking forward, the hyperactivity shows no signs of slowing. Chevron has already announced that it plans to spend $2.5 billion to develop its shale assets in the Permian, and Apache plans to allocate about 63 percent of its oil and natural gas capital to the region, approximately $1.9 billion.