<p style="line-height: 18.9091px;">A private equity-backed U.S. oil company led by former Statoil 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. Private equity, venture capital and other prospectors are betting that global demand for oil will eventually outstrip supply and lift prices from 12-year lows, making the land ripe for development.</p>