Tulsa-based Empire Petroleum Corp. said it has acquired 700 oil, natural gas and injector wells from ExxonMobil that run across 40,000 net acres of legacy leaseholds in the Permian Basin of New Mexico.

Empire New Mexico LLC purchased the Lea County wells, which are around 15 miles southwest of Hobbs. The wells were operated by ExxonMobil’s XTO Energy Inc. The wells, producing 1,100 boe/d net, are in the Eunice Monument Secondary Unit (EMSU) and Arrowhead Grayburg Unit (AGU) fields on the northwestern edge of the Permian’s Central Basin Platform.

“We believe the EMSU and surrounding acquired fields have a significant resource base,” said Empire President Mike Morrisett. “In our view, these assets have current infill drilling and return-to-production well potential that...