Aviation View | Volume 2, Issue 1

44 AVIATION VIEW VOLUME 2, ISSUE 1 egional Airport D own in the extreme southeast corner of New Mexico lies one of America’s biggest oil- producing regions – Lea County. The urban center is the city of Hobbs with some 50,000 people, comprising the lion’s share of the area’s population. Oil and gas extraction has been at the heart of Lea County from the very beginning. Hobbs itself was a small group of ranches until 1927, when a discovery by the Midwest Oil Company brought wells and a refinery and the town of Hobbs was officially incorporated. “Oil and gas production is our bread and butter,” says Corey Needham, Assistant County Manager and Airport Manager. “With the expansion of horizontal drilling and fracking, this has grown in the last 15 years and really drives our economy in Lea County.” The Lea County Regional Airport (HOB) covers 898 acres and has three asphalt runways: 7,398 × 150 feet, 6,002 × 150 feet, and 4,998 × 100 feet. The airport, itself, employs five county staff, however, AT A GLANCE LEA COUNTY REGIONAL AIRPORT WHAT: A progressive commercial and general aviation airport WHERE: City of Hobbs, Lea County, New Mexico WEBSITE: www.flyhobbs.com Feeling right at home