Mónica Ortiz Uribe

Industry giants have these recruiting billboards scattered across southeast New Mexico.

Now to another fossil fuel industry - oil.

Drillers across the country are eager to profit off high oil prices. That's creating a lot of activity in once quiet towns.

In the Southwest, companies are flocking to the Permian Basin, one of the richest oil reserves in the nation. Fronteras reporter Mónica Ortiz Uribe traveled to one hotspot in southeast New Mexico.

In the first of a three part series, Mónica tells us how oil is transforming local economies.