oil patch

noun

, Slang.

1. an area in which oil is produced.
2. the petroleum industry.

Word History and Origins

Origin of oil patch¹

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

Everything looks the same on either side of the Texas-New Mexico border in the great oil patch of the Permian Basin.

From ProPublica

Interviewed on Fortune’s Leadership Next podcast, Chevron CEO Michael Wirth acknowledged the current difficulties in the oil patch.

From Fortune

Lliam Hildebrand wanted to use his skills as a welder in the oil patch to assist the green-energy transition—he just couldn’t get a job.

From Fortune

Meanwhile, Project Bakken has announced the arrest of another big oil patch meth ring.

From The Daily Beast

The Bush family, with its Yankee and Ivy League origins and its oil-patch mythology, is both Northern and Western.

From The Daily Beast