With high oil prices, West Texas booms again

Nationwide, RV (recreational vehicles) sales have fallen up to 25 percent because of rising fuel costs. Not so at Billy Sims Trailer Town in Odessa or other dealerships around the area.

Jed Heard, owner of a Cadillac dealership in Midland, said it's not unusual for someone to plunk down $65,000 in cash for a sport utility vehicle. Miles per gallon aren't much of a concern for people whose livelihood is linked to oil.

The dealership said it set a sales record last year, and July's numbers are 18 percent ahead of the same month last year.

Boom times are not new here. Neither are busts, and many people in and out of the oil business — homebuilders and developers among them — know the good times may not last.

The last big boom came in the early 1980s, a few years after one-time Midland resident George W. Bush ran for Congress and suffered his only election loss. Many new millionaires were made. Rolls-Royce opened a short-lived dealership in Midland. And many people thought the good times would roll forever.

When the bust came in the middle of the decade, folks in Odessa had little to feel good about. A popular sticker at the time read: "Please Lord let there be another boom. I promise I won't piss it away next time."

This time, individuals and municipalities with bulging coffers are planning for the future more carefully, said Waco-based economist Ray Perryman. "I really think they're following that bumper sticker," he said. "This is a much more measured, intelligent response than it was 25 years ago."

Worldwide demand, especially from China and India, and improved drilling technology could keep this boom alive for at least another decade. Experts estimate the Permian Basin has 70 percent of its oil left, or about 15 billion barrels.

Vida Simpson, a 59-year-old Kermit-area native, recalled earlier oil heydays, when the town had several grocery stores, two movie theaters and a slew of other shops. But the mother of two grown children also remembered the bust and the demise of her family furniture store. And she recalled the unfortunate young people who took oilfield jobs instead of going to college.

"I'm just fearful that they don't get caught up on a trap, like they did before," Simpson said.

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