The Coterra Energy FLYING EBONY project is a tightly executed, single-pad development in Culberson County that reflects a deliberate shift toward manufacturing-style gas drilling in the Permian Basin. From a single licensing event through continuous drilling and timely facility permitting, the project’s cadence highlights a focus on operational efficiency, repeatability, and disciplined capital deployment.
Project Personas
Surface Persona
The Coterra Energy FLYING EBONY project represents a highly concentrated, single-pad development in Culberson County, with all wells permitted under one lease and located within the same Block, Abstract, and Section. The exclusive use of a single contractor and rig reflects a factory-style execution model focused on operational consistency, minimal downtime, and rapid progression from drilling to facility build-out.
Sub-Surface Persona
The Flying Ebony development is a single-field, gas-weighted horizontal drilling program with tightly clustered projected depths, indicating a mature and well-delineated reservoir target. Uniform well designs and long laterals point to a repeatable subsurface strategy optimized for drilling efficiency and predictable production outcomes.
Licensing and Front-End Project Setup
The project began with a single, unified licensing event. All records share the same First License Date of May 21, 2025, with no spread between first and last license issuance. This strongly suggests a pad-level or unit-level permitting strategy rather than staggered, well-by-well approvals.
From a cadence standpoint, this is an important signal: the operator had full development visibility at the outset. Rather than testing the acreage or phasing wells over time, the project was structured from day one as a coordinated development campaign.
Key takeaway: Licensing was completed in one step, laying the foundation for a tightly sequenced drilling and facilities schedule.
Drilling Cadence: Continuous Pad Execution
Drilling activity began on July 29, 2025, with the final recorded activity on October 1, 2025, creating a total drilling window of 64 days.
Activity events occurred, on average, every 8 days, indicating a steady, uninterrupted drilling rhythm. There were no “not yet drilled” wells in the dataset, reinforcing the view that this was a fully executed drilling program rather than a partially completed pad.
This cadence aligns well with modern Permian pad drilling, where a dedicated rig drills multiple long laterals back-to-back with minimal mobilization or idle time.
Key takeaway: The drilling program ran continuously over roughly two months, consistent with a manufacturing-style pad development rather than opportunistic single-well drilling.
Completions and Facility Timing Assumption
No individual well completion dates were reported. However, the Air Permit (Facility) Received Date of December 17, 2025 provides a strong proxy for project completion.
In gas-weighted developments, facility air permits—particularly those tied to compression—are typically issued once drilling and completions are substantially complete or immediately ahead of first production. In practice, this date often marks the transition from drilling/completions into steady-state operations.
Using this assumption, the project timeline looks like this:
- License issued: May 21, 2025
- Drilling start: July 29, 2025
- Drilling end: October 1, 2025
- Facility permit received (project completion proxy): December 17, 2025
From first license to facility permit, the total project duration is approximately 210 days (about 7 months).
Key takeaway: The project moved from licensing to operational readiness in well under a year, reflecting disciplined execution and tight coordination between drilling and facilities.
Surface and Subsurface Concentration
Every surface and subsurface indicator reinforces the same theme:
- 100% of wells in Culberson County
- Single Block, Abstract, and Section
- Single lease: FLYING EBONY 19-30
- Single contractor and rig
- Single field target
- 100% horizontal, gas-weighted wells
- Projected depths tightly clustered around ~20,500 ft
This level of uniformity is characteristic of a mature development area where subsurface risk is low and operational efficiency is prioritized. There is no evidence of exploratory step-outs or appraisal drilling—this was a planned, repeatable development from start to finish.
Estimated Project Cost
While no completion cost data is available, the scope of the project allows for a reasonable estimate based on Permian Basin gas-weighted pad development benchmarks.
Assumptions
- Well count: ~5 wells (based on ~100,000+ total feet drilled at ~20,500 ft per well)
- Well type: Long-lateral horizontal gas wells
- Drilling & completion cost per well: $9–11 million
- Centralized facilities & compression: $8–12 million (single-pad efficiency)
Estimated Costs
- Drilling & Completions:
5 wells × $10 million (midpoint) ≈ $50 million - Facilities, compression, and tie-ins:
≈ $10 million
Estimated Total Project Cost
$55–65 million
This estimate reflects the efficiencies gained from pad drilling, a dedicated rig, repeatable well designs, and centralized surface facilities—all of which are clearly present in the Flying Ebony project.
Final Takeaway
The FLYING EBONY project stands out as a textbook example of a modern Permian manufacturing development. From a single licensing event to continuous drilling, followed by timely facility permitting, the cadence suggests a well-planned, capital-disciplined execution.
For Coterra Energy, Flying Ebony reflects a broader strategy shift toward concentrated, gas-weighted developments that prioritize repeatability, speed, and cost control—positioning the asset for efficient long-term production in a capital-constrained environment.
