Alva Review-Courier -

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Some of the largest energy companies in the U.S. have already invested billions of dollars on claims up and down the Texas-New Mexico state line, tapping one of the nation's richest and most prolific oil and natural gas regions.

Now the stakes just got higher, as the U.S. Geological Survey released a new assessment Thursday that shows portions of the Permian Basin could hold even more promise.

With the potential to double the nation's onshore oil and gas resources, the agency estimates more than 46 billion barrels of oil and some 280 trillion cubic feet of gas are with...