Peering inside the Permian

摘要

It is a blazing morning in the Permian basin, in west Texas, America's most productive oilfield. On the high plains a rig gnaws at rock more than 3,000 feet (0.9km) underground. When the drill bit reaches about a mile and a half in depth, nearly six times the height of the Empire State Building, it will munch its way sideways for another two miles. Then comes the interesting part. After completing one horizontal well, the towering rig will rise virtually intact, shuffle forward for about an hour, then prepare to drill again.