<span style="line-height: 18.9091px;">A private equity-backed U.S. oil company led by former&nbsp;</span><span style="line-height: 18.9091px;">Statoil</span><span style="line-height: 18.9091px;">&nbsp;executives has bought 18,000 acres in rural west Texas, the latest deal by investors snapping up land whose value has plunged along with crude prices.</span>