While many oil producers went into bankruptcy as the oil economy sank around them, a few found a technique that has enabled them to boost oil output.
As Business Insider reports, Occidental Petroleum Corp and a few other oil producers with wells near Hobbs, New Mexico – which rests on the Permian Basin on New Mexico’s border with Texas – steadily pumped low-cost oil through the downturn, using a technique not only boosts oil output but also reduces carbon emissions.
The method harnesses the carbon dioxide produced during the extraction of oil or from power plants, and forces it back into the fields, which boosts the pressure underground and drives more oil to the surface.
Along with this type of drilling comes a tax credit – which could triple in size if Congress approves a new measure this summer - that helps insulate wells during downturns and entices the oil industry to keep crude flowing, which could increase oil supply and therefore be a drag on prices.