Those words were the theme of the 2018 Permian Basin International Oil Show, and they summed up the mood nicely.
By Jesse Mullins
ODESSA, TEXAS—For three full days—the entire run of the 2018 Permian Basin International Oil Show—the rains fell and the drizzle drizzled and the mists mystified. Such was the weather that huge crowds packed the indoor exhibits while outdoor, tenthoused exhibitors stood shivering and waiting for visitors who braved the chill weather far too infrequently.
If the PBIOS is not blazingly hot, or howlingly windy, it is monsoonishly moist, and that is what it was this time.
But for all of that, the show went on, and it did what all PBIOS shows do.
It brought the Basin oil biz together in one place and brought out the latest in hardware, heavy equipment, high tech, machinery, methodologies, breakthroughs, business-dealings, and people—people congregating together and forging alliances and friendships and finding ways to make things work.
The prevailing sentiment would have to be described as heightened enthusiasm. While there were
not so many high-masted rigs parked in the back lots as in 2014—but 2014 was a marvel of a year for PBIOS—and not quite so much rolling stock in straight-from-the-factory eye-popping paintjobs, still there was a goodly representation. It is a testament to the optimism people have—that things will get better, that things are getting better.
Enjoy our pictorial of some of the highlight scenes from the show.