Chevron’s first full quarter managing the Bakken following the Hess acquisition offered an unusually clear look at how the supermajor views North Dakota shale in a mature U.S. portfolio. Management’s comments on the Q3 2025 earnings call were consistent, deliberate, and—importantly—validated by actual drilling data from North Dakota.
For years, the Bakken has been labeled “mature.” But Chord Energy’s latest commentary — backed by hard drilling data — tells a very different story. Far from winding down, the Bakken is evolving into a capital-efficient, free-cash-flow machine, driven by longer laterals, operational scale, and disciplined consolidation.
Chord’s Q3 2025 earnings call made one thing clear: the Bakken remains the core of the company’s strategy, and the next phase of development looks structurally stronger than earlier cycles.
Baytex Energy’s decision to sell its U.S. Eagle Ford assets, with an expected closing date of December 19, 2025, is not happening in a vacuum. The timing lines up precisely with a concentrated burst of drilling and facility-level activity that has quietly reshaped the value of the asset over the past two years.
Vital Energy shareholders approved Crescent Energy’s $3.1 billion acquisition on December 14, clearing the final hurdle for a transaction that will close on December 15, 2025. With the vote complete and Vital shares set to be suspended from NYSE trading, the deal marks a defining moment—not just for the two companies, but for how independent oil and gas operators are positioning themselves for the next phase of the U.S. shale cycle.
Helmerich & Payne (H&P) remains one of the most important barometers of U.S. onshore drilling activity. As a leading provider of high-spec land rigs, H&P’s well count offers a real-time lens into where capital is flowing, which operators are most active, and which basins continue to anchor U.S. oil and…
A hyperscale data center is a utility-scale computing facility designed to run cloud and artificial intelligence workloads at massive scale. Unlike traditional data centers, hyperscale facilities require gigawatt-level, 24/7 electricity, forcing developers to secure long-term, industrial-grade power supplies—often by financing their own energy infrastructure.
Sabalo II Operating, LLC is a privately held oil-focused operator with an active development footprint in the Permian Basin, specifically in Andrews County, Texas. The company’s recent drilling program highlights a disciplined, factory-style shale approach that prioritizes execution efficiency in the subsurface while deliberately pacing surface infrastructure investment.
Imperial Petroleum Inc. (IMPP) entered 2025 with bold ambitions — and its latest earnings release shows those ambitions taking shape. In the second quarter alone, the company expanded its fleet by more than 50%, deepened its position in both the tanker and dry bulk markets, and continued a multi-year streak of consistent profitability.
Cenovus Energy has released its 2026 capital budget and corporate guidance, and the message is unmistakable:
The growth phase is complete—now comes disciplined execution, volume optimization, and integrated value capture across one of the strongest upstream/downstream portfolios in North America.
Chevron entered 2025 with a clear mandate: scale development efficiently, compress cycle times, and unlock more value from every acre across its U.S. portfolio. The company’s competitive advantage increasingly comes from the convergence of advanced AI, next-generation completions, and a highly optimized rig fleet tailored to each basin. Two technologies…
