Editing Odessa, Texas (section)

==Economy==
[[File:Prosperity Bank, Odessa, TX DSCN1277.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Prosperity Bank Building is the tallest building in Odessa.]]
[[File:Pumpjacks in Texas.JPG|thumb|Oil Pumpjacks seen in an oil field in [[Penwell, Texas|Penwell]], west of Odessa in 2006. The oil industry has been a huge part of Odessa's economy since the 1920s.]]
[[File:MCM Grand Hotel, Odessa, TX DSCN1213.JPG|200px|right|thumb|MCM Grande Hotel in Odessa includes the West Texas Events Center.]]
Historically, the Odessa economy has been primarily driven by the area's oil industry, booming and busting in response to rises and falls in the crude [[price of oil|oil price]]. Many of the city's largest employers are oilfield supply companies and petrochemical processing companies. In recent decades, city leaders have begun trying to decrease the city's reliance on the energy industry to moderate the boom-bust cycle and develop greater economic sustainability.<ref name="Handbook"/>

Odessa has also taken steps to diversify the energy it produces. In 2009, a [[wind farm]] has been constructed in northern Ector County.<ref>{{Cite news| last1= Folsom | first1= Jeff |url= http://www.oaoa.com/news/look-38257-agents-bodytext.html|date= 20 October 2009|title=Extension agents look forward|newspaper = [[Odessa American]]|access-date=26 May 2015}}</ref> Around the same time, a [[coal pollution mitigation]] plant had been announced for a site previously entered in the [[Futuregen]] bidding. The plant will be run by Summit Power and will be located near [[Penwell, Texas|Penwell]].<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://texascleanenergyproject.com/news/Clean+coal+project+could+be+game-changer+for+Texas|title= Clean coal project could be game-changer for Texas|work= Texas Clean Energy Project|access-date= July 13, 2010|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100126221939/http://texascleanenergyproject.com/news/Clean+coal+project+could+be+game-changer+for+Texas|archive-date= January 26, 2010|url-status= dead}}</ref> This plant was supposed to lead to the creation of 8,000 jobs in the area.<ref>{{Cite news|last1= Folsom| first1 = Jeff|url= http://www.oaoa.com/news/impact-40849-summit-.html|title=Summit impact |date = 24 December 2009|newspaper=[[Odessa American]]|access-date=26 May 2015}}</ref> Plans were also in place for a small [[nuclear reactor]] called the [[HT3R|High-Temperature Teaching and Test Reactor]] to be run as a test and teaching facility in conjunction with the nuclear engineering department at [[University of Texas of the Permian Basin]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thoriumpower.com/files/Energy%20Daily%20on%20Texas%20Reactor.PDF |title=Advanced reactor plan gets off the ground in Texas |publisher=The Energy Daily |date=23 February 2006 |author=Lobsenz, George |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717051942/http://www.thoriumpower.com/files/Energy%20Daily%20on%20Texas%20Reactor.PDF |archive-date=July 17, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.utpb.edu/research-grants/ht3r/|title=HT3R :: The University of Texas of the Permian Basin|date=January 6, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090106013155/http://www.utpb.edu/research-grants/ht3r/ |archive-date=2009-01-06 }}</ref>

Odessa's main enclosed shopping mall, [[Music City Mall (Odessa, Texas)|Music City Mall]], used to include an indoor ice skating rink.

===Largest employers===
As in many municipalities, some of the largest employers are in the education, government, and healthcare industries. Outside of those areas, the city's major employers are concentrated in the oil industry. According to the city's 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.odessa-tx.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/1013|title=City of Odessa 2021 CAFR|access-date=February 18, 2023}}</ref> the top employers in the city were:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! #
! Employer
! Number of<br />employees
|-
| 1
|[[Ector County Independent School District]]
|4,163
|-
|2
|Medical Center Hospital
|1,977
|-
| 3
|[[Halliburton]] 
|1,400
|-
| 4
|NexTier (formerly Keane Group)
|1,142
|-
| 5
|City of Odessa 
|900
|-
| 6
|Saulsbury Companies
|874
|-
| 7
|[[Iasis Healthcare|Odessa Regional Medical Center]]
|800
|-
| 8
|[[Ector County, Texas|Ector County]]
|735
|-
| 9
|[[H-E-B]] 
|721
|-
| 10
|[[University of Texas Permian Basin]]
|619
|-
|}