The Permian Basin around Midland and Odessa is oil country — the refineries, gas plants, and oilfield service operations of the world’s most productive oil field, where high-heat process equipment reportedly relied on asbestos insulation and gaskets.

Every Texas asbestos case follows the same path: it is filed in the county of proper venue, transferred to the statewide Texas Asbestos MDL pretrial court (the 281st District Court in Harris County) for pretrial proceedings, and then remanded to the county for trial. Texas allows two years from a mesothelioma or asbestos-cancer diagnosis to file (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.003).