LAST BASIN STANDING?

摘要

Four glowing rigs stand side-by-side on a rise southwest of Midland, silhouetted against an orange sunset burstingthrough low clouds. A late afternoon storm sparked with lightning rolls across the West Texas plains from the northwest and blots out the postcard scene. Cold, fat raindrops dampen the ground as daylight fades. The blue norther, lore in the annals of Texas weather, could be a metaphor for the current plight of the oil and gas industry. A low pressure system of cold and windy commodity prices has settled in across the industry, although a recent uptick in crude may signal a break in the clouds.