page_title: Dimmit County, Texas
section_title: Oil
hierarchical_section_title: Dimmit County, Texas / History / Oil
caption_attribution_description: English: Austin Chalk stratigraphic column in Texas
context_page_description: Dimmit County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 9,996. The county seat is Carrizo Springs. The county was founded in 1858 and later organized in 1880. It is named for Philip Dimmitt, a major figure in the Texas Revolution. The spelling of the county name and the spelling of the individual's name differ because of a spelling error in the bill creating the county name.
context_section_description: The Big Wells Oil Field, east of Big Wells was discovered in 1969.  The field produces from the Cretaceous San Miguel Formation sandstone underlying the Olmos Formation sandstone.  The field extends north into Zavala.
  The Eagle Ford oil field was reported to be under development in 2011 with 3,000 wells projected to extract oil by hydraulic fracturing from tight shale formations. The oil play has improved business activity in the county but raised fears regarding the adequacy of water supplies as fracking requires injection of large quantities of water under pressure into wells to break surrounding rock.
caption: San Miguel and Olmos Formations stratigraphic column
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