Texas shale drillers lure US$2 billion in new equity to Permian

Chicago

OIL producers in West Texas, defying expectations that they would fall victim to Opec's price war, are instead selling investors on the idea that they can still profit with prices below US$35 a barrel.

Drillers in the Permian Basin, the biggest US shale field, have raised at least US$2 billion from share sales over the past eight weeks. And more issuances are on the way as producers try to avoid piling on additional debt.

Pioneer Natural Resources Co's 12 million-share issuance on Jan 5 was followed a week later by Diamondback Energy Inc's …