Permian Basin Petroleum Museum

One of the better petroleum industry museums in the United States, the Permian Basin Petroleum Museum tells the story of how West Texas was transformed by oil, from the early wildcatters drilling blind to the sophisticated geological understanding that turned the Permian Basin into an energy powerhouse. The world's largest collection of antique oil drilling equipment sits outdoors on the museum grounds.

Inside, the Permian Reef Gallery re-creates the ancient shallow sea whose fossilized remains now hold the oil. The Voyage of the PetroTrekker walk-through exhibit explains the full chain from geological formation to refinery. It is a surprisingly engaging museum — the combination of deep time, human ingenuity, and colossal economic consequence makes for a good story, and the museum tells it well.

1500 Interstate 20 West, Midland, TX 79701. Monday–Saturday 10am–5pm, Sunday 2–5pm.

things to do museum
A story
The Permian Basin was a shallow inland sea some 270 million years ago. When it evaporated, it left behind the Permian Reef — a fossilized coral reef that is now the geological backbone of one of the world's largest oil fields. Geologists who understood this in the 1940s knew exactly where to drill, and the museum's diorama of that ancient sea, with its shark teeth and sea lily fossils, makes the whole Permian oil story suddenly comprehensible.