STRONG PRICES BRING CONSOLIDATION TO LOCAL OIL FIELDS

Story By: JOHN COX, Californian staff writer jcox @ bakersfield.com

Images By: Alex Horvath / The Californian

Two forms of consolidation — ownership and geographical — are subtly transforming Kern County’s oil field services industry, and that may be a healthy sign for a line of work that has been an important if unreliable source of local jobs.

With the money and confidence that come from oil prices that have settled relatively high after the wild fluctuations of 2008, some large companies are merging and looking at buying smaller, more specialized outfits. Effects of that industrywide trend are being felt locally.