Houston-based Oasis Petroleum Inc. said it plans to add a fifth operated rig to the Williston Basin next month, and will target multiple zones of the Permian Basin’s Wolfcamp and Third Bone Spring formations for development next year, where it also may add a third rig next summer.

Production averaged 85,400 boe/d in 3Q2018, 77% weighted to oil, and 29% higher year/year and up close to 8% sequentially. Oasis produced 80,700 boe/d in the Williston and 4,700 boe/d in the Permian Delaware sub-basin.

During the third quarter, the company completed and placed 24.4 net operated wells into production, bringing online 22.4 in the Williston and two in the Delaware. Oasis expects to complete about 110 gross operated wells in the Williston by year’s end, as well as six to eight gross wells in the Delaware.

Oasis was a pure-play operator in the Williston until last December, when it acquired more than 20,000 net acres in the oil window of the Delaware for $946 million.

During an earnings call earlier this month to discuss quarterly results, COO Taylor Reid said the “lion’s share” of development program in 2018 has been devoted to the Alger, Indian Hills and Wild Basin operating areas in the Williston. Oasis completed its first enhanced completion well in its Painted Woods operating area and early results were “encouraging.” By the end of the year, three more wells are expected to be completed there, with six in the Red Bank operating area.

“In addition to our own activity, we continue to watch other operators across the play implement enhanced completion techniques and are excited about the early time results in the potential positive implications for our extended core and fairway acreage,” Reid said during call.

The company has revised its completion schedule in 4Q2018 to minimize natural gas flaring in North Dakota. Consequently, fourth quarter production guidance was reduced to 87,500-90,000 boe/d from 91,000-94,000 boe/d. Left unchanged is the 3028 exit guidance rate of 91,000-94,000 boe/d (75-76% oil).

Oasis is running four rigs in the Williston and plans to add a fifth rig in December. It also has two rigs deployed in the Delaware, where a third rig is expected to be raised next summer.

“In January, we’ll be completing a three-well Wolfcamp A spacing test with two in the lower and one in the upper interval,” Reid said. “While the Wolfcamp A will still be the primary focus in 2019, you’ll see us drill across the different zones from the Third Bone Spring to the Wolfcamp C as we continue our delineation in workforce for field development.”

Oasis holds 418,000 net acres in the Williston and 23,000 net acres in the Delaware.

Since last December, Oasis has agreed to sell about $360 million of assets. The company signed two separate deals in June to sell 65,000 net acres in the Williston for a combined $283 million.

In a separate development, Oasis is dropping down some investments into its midstream partnership. It has a definitive agreement to sell a 15% stake in Bobcat DevCo LLC and a 30% interest in Beartooth DevCo LLC to Oasis Midstream Partners LP for $250 million.

Bobcat’s assets, which include infrastructure for gas gathering and compression, crude oil gathering and produced water gathering and disposal, primarily are in the Wild Basin operating area. Beartooth handles freshwater delivery and produced water gathering and disposal in the Williston’s Alger, Cottonwood, Hebron, Indian Hills and Red Bank operating areas.

Oasis reported net earnings of $62.3 million (20 cents/share) in 3Q2018, compared with a net loss of $41.2 million (minus 18 cents) in the year-ago quarter. Revenues totaled $546.4 million in 3Q2018, compared with $304.7 million in 3Q2017.