As a financial storm lashes the U.S. oil patch, energy companies are seeking shelter in the closest thing the industry has to a port: a sprawling expanse of West Texas known as the Permian Basin. In fact, as drillers pull back in oil fields across the U.S., they are pumping more crude than ever in the Permian, according to some federal data. And companies from giant Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM 0.62 % on down have been vying to add to their acreage in the oil field that stretches north from Midland almost to Lubbock. “There’s an old saying, ‘If you want oil and gas, you go where it is,’ ” said Gary Willingham, executive vice president of operations for Noble Energy Inc., NBL 2.11 % which earlier this year bought new drilling rights in the Permian by purchasing Rosetta Resources Inc. for $2.1 billion. The strength of the […]