A huge push in West Texas has allowed oil major Exxon Mobil to unseat Houston exploration and production company EOG Resources as the top driller in Texas.
Exxon Mobil’s shale arm XTO Energy filed for 659 drilling permits with the Railroad Commission of Texas this year, easily surpassing the 508 filed by EOG Resources.
Nearly 90 percent of Exxon Mobil’s permits were for projects in the Permian Basin while nearly 7 percent were in the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas. The remainder were split across the state.
With crude oil prices stuck in the $50-to-$60 per barrel range most of the year, drilling activity was down in Texas by nearly 10 percent in 2019. Some 921 operators filed 11,932 drilling permits through Dec. 23 of this year, compared to the 1,014 operators filing for 13,175 permits during the same time period in 2018.
Permian Basin
A battle for dominance is underway in the Permian Basin, which accounted for nearly two-thirds of drilling permit filings. Large independents such as EOG Resources, Occidental Petroleum of Houston and Diamondback Energy of Midland remain the biggest competitors to oil majors such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron.
Eagle Ford Shale
The Eagle Ford accounted for more than one-fifth of Texas drilling permits in 2019. EOG Resources remained the South Texas shale play’s top driller with 397 permits. A merger with Wildhorse Resources allowed Oklahoma-based Chesapeake Energy to come in second. Houston oil major ConocoPhillips was ranked in third.
Haynesville Shale
With 42 permits filed, Houston exploration and production company Rockcliff Energy was the top horizontal driller in the East Texas natural gas play. Dallas-based natural gas company Aethon Energy was ranked in second place while British oil major BP was ranked in third.
Barnett Shale
There were only enough horizontal drilling permits to rank five companies in the Barnett Shale of North Texas. Houston exploration and production company Lime Rock Resources ranked in first place with 21 permits while Tulsa-based Sage Natural Resources was second. Third-place Devon Energy recently sold its Barnett Shale leases in a $770 million deal.
Conventionals
With 99 permits filed for vertical and directional wells, Houston oil company Hilcorp Energy Co. is the state’s top conventional driller. Farmers Branch oil company Scout Energy Partners ranked in second while McKinney oil company Newport Operating ranked in third.
Texas Top 10 Drillers for 2019
By permits
Exxon Mobil 659
EOG Resources 508
Occidental Petroleum 488
Diamondback Energy 398
Pioneer Natural Resources 381
Endeavor Energy Resources 285
Chevron 222
Chesapeake Energy 216
Concho Resources 209
ConocoPhillips 206
Source: Railroad Commission of Texas
Permian Basin Top 10 Drillers
Exxon Mobil 585
Occidental Petroleum 488
Diamondback Energy 398
Pioneer Natural Resources 380
Endeavor Energy Resources 285
Chevron 222
Concho Resources 209
Apache Corp 179
CrownQuest Operating 175
Encana 154
Source: Railroad Commission of Texas
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EOG Resources 397
Chesapeake Energy 216
ConocoPhillips 206
Marathon Oil 155
BP 152
Sanchez Energy 81
Murphy Oil 79
Carrizo Oil & Gas 69
Hawkwood Energy 61
Lewis Energy 58
Source: Railroad Commission of Texas
Rockcliff Energy 42
Aethon Energy 30
BP 20
Exxon Mobil 19
Comstock Oil & Gas 18
Sabine Oil & Gas 17
Tanos Exploration 16
KJ Energy 11
Brooks Petroleum Company 7
Castleton Resources 6
Source: Railroad Commission of Texas
Lime Rock Resources 21
Sage Natural Resources 13
Devon Energy 11
1849 Energy Partners 6
Total 6
Source: Railroad Commission of Texas
Conventional Top 10 Drillers
Hilcorp Energy Company 99
Scout Energy 64
Newport Operating 33
Breitburn Operating 18
Acock/Anaqua Operating 18
Headington Energy Partners 16
Dry Fork Production Co. 15
NBX Energy 15
Texas Petroleum Investment Co. 15
Frostwood Energy 15
Source: Railroad Commission of Texas
By Sergio Chapa Chron
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