sentences:  The Permian Basin, 250 miles wide and 350 miles long, underlies Lea County and adjacent Eddy County as well as a big piece of West Texas.It produces 500,00 barrels of crude a day, and this number was expected to double in 2019.The shale in this basin lies 3,000 to 15,000 feet below the surface, below a salt bed and a groundwater aquifer.