permian

ExxonMobil Corp.’s onshore U.S. subsidiary on Monday agreed to buy oily land in the Permian Basin of Texas and sell natural gas-weighted Utica Shale property in Ohio.

The revitalization of the mature Permian Basin in West Texas continued to capture industry attention on Thursday as Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s (Oxy) senior executive for U.S. operations called 2013 a “pivotal year” for transformation of Permian assets.

The U.S. land grab is “substantially” over as operators turn their focus — and the funding — to scale and efficiency, said transaction experts PLS Inc. and Derrick Petroleum Services.

Two independent producers unveiled their capital expenditure budgets this week and gave an early update on production guidance for 2014 in basins stretching from Texas to the Rocky Mountains.

QEP Resources Inc. subsidiary QEP Energy Co. is acquiring oil and gas properties in the Permian Basin for $950 million from EnerVest Ltd. and plans to sell noncore Midcontinent assets as it becomes more oil- and natural gas liquids-focused, the company said Monday.

In yet another move that reaffirms its commitment to oil projects in the Midcontinent and the liquids-rich portion of the Marcellus Shale in southwest Pennsylvania, Range Resources Corp.is putting up for sale 70,000 net acres in West Texas and essentially exiting the Permian Basin.

Midstream players have allocated a lot of capital to boost crude takeaway and/or natural gas processing capacity in the renewed Permian Basin, and if production continues to accelerate, several billion more could be directed to the region to meet the growing needs of producers, according to an analysis by Raymond James & Associates Inc.

The venerable Permian Basin, where production peaked in the 1970s, has come to life bigger and stronger, and is proving to still be the rock of choice for a lot of exploration and production (E&P) companies and oilfield service operators.

After stumbling through some rough quarters as it reworked the portfolio toward North America’s unconventionals, Devon Energy Corp. this week reported improved profitability in the third quarter, and management said the gains offer opportunities that could provide the next leg of high margin growth.