Tom Manskey

What we talked about

Odessa's three-legged stool

Odessa keeps economic development, destination marketing and traditional chamber operations under one roof. Manskey calls the arrangement a three-legged stool: the Chamber performs economic-development work for the Odessa Development Corporation, while Discover Odessa and chamber operations complete the structure.

That model gives the organization a broad view of the local economy. Recruitment matters, but so do workforce, visitor activity and the daily health of companies already operating in the community.

The wins that come from existing industry

Oil and gas dominates the Permian Basin, which makes business retention and expansion especially important. Energy companies continually evaluate new facilities, consolidation and equipment investments. Manskey's team tries to reach them early with financial, workforce and logistical support.

He points to Liberty Energy's Permian Basin headquarters as a recent example: a roughly 225,000-square-foot facility, about $58 million in investment and a projected 1,500 jobs created by consolidating operations from across Texas and New Mexico in Odessa.

Powering the country while diversifying the economy

The Permian Basin accounts for more than 40% of U.S. gas production, and Odessa takes pride in the national-security and global significance of that output. Major producers and a dense network of service companies remain the region's economic foundation.

At the same time, the Midland-Odessa area is approaching a population of half a million. Health care, higher education, housing, retail, restaurants and sports tourism are growing with it. Manskey sees diversification not as a rejection of energy, but as building more economic legs around a powerful base.

Sports, hotels and the weekend economy

Some Permian Basin workers commute in for long rotations, which can leave hotel demand softer on weekends. New indoor and outdoor athletic complexes in Midland and Odessa create another reason for visitors to stay, eat and spend locally.

Tournaments in basketball, volleyball and seven-on-seven football can fill rooms during periods when business travel falls away. It is a reminder that economic development can come through amenities and visitor infrastructure—not only factories and corporate offices.

From 30,000 gallons a minute to 24,000 a day

The episode title comes from Manskey's experience with a data-center prospect. Three years earlier, the proposed cooling system required roughly 30,000 gallons of water every minute—an obvious mismatch for West Texas. New closed-loop air-cooling technology reduced the same project's estimate to approximately 24,000 to 26,000 gallons per day.

For perspective, Odessa found individual car washes using at least that much water daily. The comparison does not erase every concern, but it shows how quickly the technology changed and why debates based on older designs can miss present conditions.

Everyone already uses a data center

Manskey often hears people describe data centers as something remote from their lives. His answer is practical: a banking app, retail account, cloud service or online purchase already depends on one. Demand follows the digital services people use every day, with AI accelerating the scale.

Odessa has embraced a pipeline of projects, including facilities promising high-paying jobs comparable to energy work. The community may eventually decide it has enough, but Manskey argues that decisions should begin with current water, power, employment and tax facts rather than a generic industry label.

Natural gas, power and the Permian advantage

Data centers need enormous amounts of reliable electricity. The Permian produces natural gas that is sometimes flared because local supply exceeds available markets. That creates an opportunity to turn an underused resource into on-site or modular power for computing infrastructure.

Energy companies are already responding. Manskey describes firms developing scalable thermal generation and major producers supplying power to technology projects. Odessa sits where two national conversations—energy abundance and AI infrastructure—meet.

The discipline of business retention

Large announcements receive attention, but smaller expansions across many existing firms can create and retain a comparable number of jobs. Odessa is formalizing its business-retention program around a targeted set of company visits, documented needs and industries positioned for growth.

The work is intensely practical: training, financing, expansion plans, workforce gaps and the timing of decisions. In a fast-moving energy economy, meetings can shift without warning. Persistence and repeated contact are part of the job.