The Delaware Basin remains one of the highest-performing oil and gas regions in North America. Despite recurring narratives about “Permian exhaustion” or rising costs, leading operators are telling a very different story—one defined by strong well performance, falling costs, and expanding high-return inventory.
Below is a cross-operator summary of what the top Delaware Basin producers are reporting, in their own words.
1. Well Performance: Outperforming, Not Declining
Coterra Energy
Coterra emphasized that the recently acquired Franklin Mountain and Avant assets are performing better than underwritten:
“We continue to perform in line to above our production expectation for the acquired assets… we have confidence there is upside relative to what underpinned the acquisition.”
Wells are meeting or beating the development plan, and additional landing zones have been identified since the deal closed.
Devon Energy
Devon continues to see uplift from both subsurface strength and AI-driven optimization:
“This is our smart gas lift project in the Delaware Basin… We saw a 3% to 5% uplift… we have moved into full deployment.”
They also highlighted exceptionally strong well performance across Wolfcamp B:
“Wolfcamp B is performing very well relative to expectations… many of those wells beating our expectations.”
EOG Resources
EOG directly pushed back against Wall Street fears of Delaware Basin productivity declines:
“Our Delaware Basin wells… are performing just as we have them designed.”
They also emphasized that new landing zones are expanding—not shrinking—the economic resource:
“We’ve been able to unlock additional unique landing zones… meeting our stringent economic hurdle rates.”
With payback periods under one year and IRRs over 100%, EOG’s Delaware results remain among the strongest in the shale industry.
Matador Resources
Matador’s entire quarter was driven by strong Delaware well performance:
“Our production was approximately 10% higher than originally forecast… driven by strong well performance and execution in the northern Delaware.”
They highlighted consistent outperformance across Antelope Ridge, Arrowhead, and Rustler Breaks.
Occidental Petroleum (OXY)
Oxy claims basin-leading well results:
“In the Delaware Basin, we continue to be a leader in new well performance across both our primary and secondary benches.”
Secondary benches in particular were standout:
“Our secondary bench wells outperformed the industry average by 10%.”
This isn’t simply about new zones—it’s also transforming long-term resource life.
Permian Resources (PR)
PR delivered one of the biggest well performance beats of the quarter:
“Technical refinements drove a 45% oil outperformance versus offset wells.”
This came from their large-scale Haley Pad development—17 wells showcasing spacing, stacking, and subsurface modeling advantages.
PR also pushed back on any “peak Permian” narrative:
“Our productivity remains strong… next year should be just as good as this year and years before that.”
2. Well Costs: Falling Across the Basin
While service cost inflation has been a concern in other U.S. basins, Delaware operators are reporting lower well costs thanks to design standardization, longer laterals, efficiencies, and power innovations.
Coterra: 10% Well Cost Reduction
Coterra has aggressively deployed its internal best practices:
“[We] reduced well costs by 10% on a $/ft basis.”
They also cut drilling times from 15 days to 13 days on standard two-mile laterals.
Devon: AI Driving Faster Drilling
Devon highlighted one of the fastest drilling records in basin history:
“In the Delaware Basin, we have a new record at about 1,800 feet/day… AI tools help us trip, drill curves, and run casing 30% faster.”
These efficiency gains translate directly into lower D&C costs.
EOG: 15%+ Well Cost Reduction
EOG’s Delaware costs are down significantly:
“We have lowered well costs more than 15% over the last 2 years.”
This improvement comes from longer laterals, super-zipper frac operations, and full infrastructure buildout—including the Janus gas plant:
“[The plant] helps further reduce our breakeven costs.”
Oxy: Lower Capital Intensity
Oxy credits secondary bench development for structural cost benefits:
“Secondary benches… lower our overall development costs, leading to a 16% lower capital intensity since 2022.”
This suggests Oxy’s multi-bench strategy is not only increasing resource but lowering cost per barrel.
Permian Resources: Basin-Leading Cost Structure
PR repeatedly emphasized peer-leading cost metrics:
“We reduced controllable cash costs by 6%… lowered LOE to $5.07/BOE and D&C costs to $7.25/ft.”
They also introduced new drill-out techniques:
“We’ve had a lot of success with a new technique that has meaningfully reduced drill-out cost.”
3. The Bigger Picture: High Performance + Falling Costs = Exceptional Economics
When you zoom out across operators—from large caps like Oxy and Devon to independents like PR and Matador—the narrative is consistent:
✔ Wells are performing as expected or better
✔ Costs are trending downward, not up
✔ New economic zones are being unlocked
✔ AI is accelerating productivity gains
✔ Microgrids and midstream are reducing LOE
✔ The resource base is expanding, not shrinking
Every major operator is delivering stronger well performance while simultaneously lowering well costs—resulting in some of the highest-return barrels in U.S. unconventional development.
Final Takeaway
The Delaware Basin remains the economic engine of U.S. shale.
Strong wells, falling costs, and technology-driven efficiencies continue to strengthen the basin’s position as the top-tier source of high-return oil and gas development.
If you’re creating market intelligence, building service strategies, or designing technical workflows around Delaware operators, the message is clear:
Well performance is strong. Costs are falling. The runway is long. The Delaware Basin isn’t slowing down—it’s accelerating.
