Permian Basin International Oil Show donates $282K in scholarships for local students

The Permian Basin International Oil Show (PBIOS) awarded five local academic institutions with $282,000 in scholarships on Wednesday in celebration of its 82nd anniversary.

Recipients of the scholarship money, which is aimed at attracting young talent to the oil and gas industry, include the University of Texas Permian Basin, Odessa College, Midland College, Texas Tech University and the Desk and Derrick Club of Midland.

The funds were presented at the UT Permian Basin Engineering Building — Midland Campus.

Odessa College, which received $80,000 of the PBIOS scholarship funds, said the money will be used to support students studying fields including “automation and instrumentation, welding, occupational safety, automotive and diesel technology.”

Since 2007, PBIOS has awarded $1.4 million in scholarships to local academic institutions.

CBS7’s Alexandra Macia attended Wednesday’s presentation. Her reporting from the scene (see her full story here) provided insight into the pressing need to attract the workforce of the future as the Permian Basin continues to play a central role in the world’s growing energy needs.

PBIOS is one of the oil and natural gas industry’s largest and oldest exhibitions, a three-day gathering of producers, service companies, investors and inovators, as stated on its website. The most recent show was held in Odessa in October 2021 and the next edition is set to be held in October 2023.