Basin

On Thursday, Jay Ottoson, CEO of Denver-based SM Energy Co., said that following a transformative 2016, the independent producer will “shrink to grow” this year.

The pace of drilling activity in the Permian Basin cannot be sustained as a lack of takeaway capacity will inevitably lead to a backlog of drilled but uncompleted (DUC) wells in the Permian Basin (PUC), some analysts say.

The Permian Basin remains red hot as SM Energy Co. on Tuesday released results of eight new Midland Basin wells in Howard County, TX, where the company will be focusing a substantial amount of its drilling effort this year.

Plains All American Pipeline LP (PAA) is paying $1.215 billion for a crude oil gathering system in the Permian Basin’s Northern Delaware sub-basin that serves “several producers” in the hot play.

A federal court has denied a motion filed by three Pennsylvania senators to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the Delaware River Basin Commission’s (DRBC) ban on horizontal hydraulic fracturing in the 13,539-square mile watershed.

The Railroad Commission of Texas(RRC) is planning a half-day session of the Permian Basin (Spraberry Trend Area) and Delaware Basin Forum and Discussion. The forum is intended to educate oil and gas industry representatives on topics including drilling permits, completions, stacked laterals and RRC website queries. The event is scheduled from noon to 4 p.m. CST on Jan. 10 at the Green Tree Country Club, 4900 Green Tree Blvd., Midland, TX. Registration is required and free; seating is limited.

Extraction Oil & Gas Inc. said it has agreed to sell more than 25 million shares of its common stock in a private placement for $457 million in gross proceeds, which it will use to replenish its coffers after closing on two separate deals to acquire acreage in the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin in Colorado for $177 million.

Midland, TX-based Concho Resources Inc. grew production during the third quarter as it took advantage of expanded natural gas processing capacity serving the Permian Basin’s Delaware sub-basin.

Clayton Williams Energy Inc. has agreed to sell “substantially all” of its assets in the Giddings Area in East Central Texas for $400 million to an undisclosed buyer as it continues a “transformation” embarked upon earlier this year. The deal will make the company a Permian Basin pure-play.