28-05-2025
Why oil wealth hasn't fueled West Texas prosperity
ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – Beneath the dirt roads and pumpjacks, lies one of the richest oil producing regions in the world. With all that wealth underneath, many residents have wondered why more money hasn't been poured back into Odessa.
The Permian Paradox is a three-part series that examines the reality of life in West Texas from historical identity to infrastructure gaps to commercial stagnation.
In Part I, Odessa Mayor Cal Hendrick explained Odessa's deep roots in cattle ranching and hard work. Hendrick, a fifth-generation Odessan, described the city as one originally built by ranchers and not developers. Furthermore, he said that legacy of self-sufficiency still shapes the city's culture and policies.
'100 years ago, Odessans were cattlemen, and they wanted the town to reflect that. Which was good for then but it has cost us now,' said Hendrick.
The independence helped Odessa thrive during oil booms but without long term planning, it left infrastructure behind. Roads, water systems and zoning laws to this day continues to have lingering issues.
In Part 2, City Council At Large, Craig Stoker, spoke about the food desert and inconsistent infrastructure.
Basic needs require a commute; some drive more than 20 miles to reach a full-service grocery store, and Councilman Stoker, who formally worked with the food bank, pointed to Odessa's outdated infrastructure as a key obstacle to development.
'We're out here on an island,' said Stoker. 'Most development happens along the I-35, I-45 corridors. Trucks don't come here daily like they do in places where there is real estate for it.'
Stoker mentioned that the closest cold storage facility is in Lubbock, which makes it a 'nightmare' for retailers and grocery store chains. Stoker said, national brands like H-E-B are focused on metro expansion and not West Texas growth which forces residents to rely on smaller chains or even drive to Midland for weekly necessities.
Meanwhile, Odessa's Development Corporation focuses on attracting manufacturing and industrial warehousing, not neighborhood amenities. Some have argued that while those investments bring jobs, they don't always improve residents' day-to-day quality of life.
Part 3, addressed where the money is going.
Despite Odessa's wealth in oil, many new developments are popping up in Midland County, instead. According to Kevin Dawson, a local development tracker and Founder of Maybe in Midland/Odessa, most of the area's commercial growth is funded by private investors and families who already live in the region.
'Development here is local,' said Dawson. 'Its about who's within a 1-3-5 mile radius. Daily traffic, income levels, population, and its not just oil production that drives whats built.'
This means areas with higher population density like parts of Midland, get more attention from developers. Meanwhile many Odessans continue to wait for the basics.
There is hope. The mayor says long term projects like a new sports complex and much improved water infrastructure are in the works
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