West Texas' booming Permian Basin has a dire need for a few thousand more truckers. As oil prices climb back up following the 2014 downturn, output in the Permian may hit 2.79 million barrels a day this month, up 30 percent from this time last year. But the companies ramping up production will need to hire more than 3,000 additional truckers, more than doubling the current workforce, said Willie Taylor, CEO of the Permian Basin Workforce Development Board. Many truckers were fired during the downturn and are now reluctant to return, fearing low pay or having found jobs in other industries. The problem is worst in the Delaware Basin, a region of the Permian where shale drillers are coming back in force. Truckers are needed to bring oil from remote wells to pipelines.
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