SM Energy Co.’s oil and gas production outperformed expectations in the second quarter, with CEO Herb Vogel highlighting the “high quality” of the Austin Chalk results in South Texas. 

SM Energy

Forty-six Austin Chalk wells scored strong initial production rates over 30 days (IP30). Vogel said the “South Texas operations continued strong through the quarter.”

Production volumes in South Texas, which made up 43% of the company’s total production in 2Q2022, reached 5.8 million boe. The operator saw 15.5 MMcf in total natural gas output from its South Texas assets, as well as 1.2 million bbl of oil and 1.9 million bbl in natural gas liquids (NGL). 

The independent, which also works in the Permian Basin’s Midland sub-basin of West Texas, is estimated “to have organically...