Reservoirs in the Permian Basin of Texas are estimated to have contained a total of 105.7 billion barrels (Bbbl) of oil at discovery. As of January 1985, these reservoirs had produced a cumulative volume of 25.3 Bbbl of oil, and proved reserves were calculated at 5.9 Bbbl.

The State-owned submerged lands of Texas encompass almost 6,000 mi2 (15,540 km2). They lie below waters of the bay-estuary-lagoon system and the Gulf of Mexico and extend 10.3 mi (16.6 km) seaward from the Gulf shoreline (fig. 1).

The interaction of geomorphic and ground-water processes has produced the Caprock Escarpmentthat bounds the eastern margin of the Southern High Plains in the Texas Panhandle.