Permian Basin

Noble Energy Inc. is adding two rigs to its Texas operations in the final three months of the year, one in Eagle Ford Shale and another in the Permian Basin’s Delaware formation, following strong production growth in the third quarter.

Denver-based SM Energy Co. said Wednesday it plans to focus most of its capital on the Permian Basin as it digests acquisitions there. Plans for the first quarter include restarting drilling in the Eagle Ford Shale, where production declined during the third quarter.

Houston-based Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s (Oxy) plans to double down in the Permian Basin, as evidenced by its $2 billion purchase of additional oil and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) assets, company executives said Tuesday.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. may hold a trove of leaseholds across the United States, but the portfolio of the future is guiding for growth from only three areas, the Permian Basin’s Delaware formation, the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) Basin and the deepwater of the Gulf of Mexico, executives said Tuesday.

Chevron Corp. is known for its big oil and natural gas projects, its long reach across North America and overseas, but new opportunities are emerging more in the legacy Permian Basin, which by itself contributed a 50,000 b/d bounce in production during the third quarter.

With several major projects now complete, ConocoPhillips plans to shift its focus to unconventional production in the Lower 48, adding five rigs to form an eight-rig drilling program before the end of the year in an effort to get a jump start on production for 2017.

While the Permian Basin has attracted a lot of new investment this year, the Williston Basin’s Bakken Shale still commands much respect, based on two 3Q2016 earnings conference calls Thursday.

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.

Denver-based SM Energy Co. is expanding its footprint in the Midland Basin through the acquisition of 35,700 net acres in Howard and Martin counties in Texas. After closing, SM Energy will hold about 82,450 net acres in the sub-basin of the Permian.