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New research confirms the Permian remains the most dynamic and durable energy basin in the world, with tens of thousands of economically viable locations still waiting to be developed.
In Texas, the story of the Permian Basin is one of discovery. A new report from Enverus Intelligence Research puts that reality in sharp relief, estimating approximately 55,000 economically viable drilling locations in the Permian Basin at sub-$50 per barrel for crude oil, a 10 percent increase from last year and a reminder that the world’s most productive energy basin is nowhere near its ceiling.
The report, titled “Permian Basin Play Fundamentals: The Intervals Keep Coming,” attributes the inventory growth to two interconnected forces: high-quality resource expansion and continued cost reductions. In other words, the industry is finding more opportunity and doing it more efficiently. That combination sustains long-term production growth and reinforces the Permian’s status as the backbone of American energy.
The numbers are striking on their own terms. When a geologically viable resource is included alongside the economically proven inventory, Enverus estimates total undeveloped locations approach 100,000. That is a basin with decades of productive capacity ahead of it, anchored by the kind of geological depth and operational expertise that no other energy-producing region in the world can match.
Stephen Sagriff, the report’s author and Enverus Intelligence Research’s director of oil and gas research, put it plainly: “Our latest work on the Permian underscores how interval optionality and cost reductions continue to refresh the basin’s runway.” The concept of interval optionality, the ability to develop multiple productive zones within a single area, is central to understanding why the Permian continues to outperform expectations year after year. Emerging deep zones and evolving development sequencing are expanding the basin’s potential even as more established areas continue to produce.
One of the report’s most significant findings centers on the Barnett-Woodford formation in the Midland Basin. Enverus identifies it as the largest oil-directed expansion opportunity in the entire lower 48 states, with more than 6,000 locations. That single formation alone represents a meaningful addition to America’s long-term production capacity, and it sits squarely in Texas.
Enverus reports that private companies hold 16 percent of sub-$50 per barrel breakeven inventory, a signal that smaller, nimble operators continue to play a meaningful role in developing the Permian’s resource base alongside the major producers.
For consumers and policymakers alike, the implications are clear. A Permian Basin with 55,000 economically viable drilling locations at sub-$50 oil is a basin that can sustain American energy security, support global market stability, and deliver affordable fuel for years to come, regardless of what anti-energy activists or overseas producers attempt to dictate.
Texas oil and natural gas producers have spent decades proving that innovation drives abundance, and the Permian Basin’s expanding inventory is the latest proof.
