Our team tracked 878 drilling records in Q1 2025, a 2.7% increase over Q1 2024, signalling renewed investment and confidence across the patch.

Helmerich & Payne led the field with 580 wells drilled, followed by Patterson-UTI, Nabors, Ensign, and AKITA. These five contractors together accounted for nearly 75% of all wells drilled in Q1 2025.

One of the most notable trends in recent years has been the acceleration of multi-well stimulation strategies—techniques where multiple wells are fractured simultaneously. From DualFrac to QuadFrac, what began as isolated pilots has now become an industry-wide shift toward efficiency, consistency, and scale.

The first quarter of 2025 in the Dealaware Basin kicked off with a significant uptick in oil and gas drilling activity across North America. Based on recent permit and rig activity data, the industry saw an 18.9% increase in drilling records compared to the same period in 2024.

The start of 2025 brought noticeable shifts in drilling and permit activity in the Midland Basin oil and gas sector. A look at Q1 2024 versus Q1 2025 reveals a 21.4% drop in overall activity, with counts falling from 821 records in 2024Q1 to 645 in 2025Q1. This decline suggests a more conservative approach among operators entering the new year—possibly driven by market volatility, shifting commodity prices, or capital discipline strategies.

The first quarter of 2025 saw a notable slowdown in oil and gas drilling activity compared to the same period in 2024. Based on licensing and rig activity records, Q1 2025 recorded 331 wells, a 21.6% decrease from 422 wells in Q1 2024.