The addition of American crude oil to the Brent benchmark had an immediate impact on global oil prices.

Dated Brent, used to set the price of most of the world’s oil, will include supplies from Texas for the first time.

With West Texas Intermediate selling above $60 a barrel, drilling and pumping oil is profitable in the U.S. Permian Basin.

The Permian Basin region, anchored by the towns of Midland and Odessa, has survived past shakeouts, but some think this could resemble the crash of the 1980s.

Companies are using less oil to make and ship things. As consumers curtail travel, they use less oil, too.

Many products and services tend to cost more.

Low oil prices hit the state's mostly small producers hard. As a barrel of oil goes up, the industry is hopeful profits will start flowing again.