Drilling activity in Oklahoma during early 2026 is being driven by a small group of operators running steady multi-rig development programs, accounting for the majority of wells drilled so far this year. At the same time, a second tier of emerging operators running smaller drilling programs could represent the next wave of growth as commodity prices and development strategies evolve.
Louisiana drilling activity in early 2026 remains concentrated among a small group of steady-state operators running most of the basin’s 25 active rigs and drilling the majority of the 82 wells completed year-to-date. While large developers like Apex Natural Gas, Expand Energy, and Aethon Energy continue to dominate activity, a smaller group of emerging operators such as Cantium, PIE LA Operating, and XTO Energy represent the next tier of companies to watch for potential drilling growth.
Roughly 20 LNG carriers—about half of the ships currently available for charter—are trapped in the Persian Gulf amid regional conflict, sending shipping rates above $200,000 per day and contributing to a sharp rise in global LNG prices.
Tamarack Valley Energy has positioned the Clearwater formation as its core growth asset, driving production with large multi-well pad drilling programs and expanding waterflood infrastructure to improve recovery. Pad analysis of recent drilling activity shows 140 wells developed across 29 pads—primarily in Marten Hills—demonstrating the scale and efficiency of Tamarack’s pad-based development strategy.
Peyto Exploration & Development is expanding compression capacity at its Nosehill Gas Plant near Drayton Valley through a facility licence amendment, allowing the company to increase throughput and optimize its existing processing infrastructure rather than build new plants
Oil prices could surge dramatically if a major supply disruption—such as a blockage of the Strait of Hormuz—removes millions of barrels per day from global markets. With limited ability to quickly increase production, analysts say prices may need to rise toward $150–$200 per barrel to force “demand destruction” and rebalance supply and consumption.
President Donald Trump announced plans for the first new oil refinery built in the United States in nearly 50 years, a proposed 168,000-barrel-per-day facility in Brownsville, Texas backed by investment from India’s Reliance Industries. The project, led by America First Refining and targeting construction as early as Q2 2026, is designed to process U.S. shale oil and could generate up to $300 billion in long-term economic value through crude processing and refined product output.
Select Water Solutions has filed a new air permit with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for its Breakwater Big Spring Recycling System, a produced water recycling facility located near Big Spring in Howard County, Texas, that supports drilling and completion operations in the Midland Basin. The facility plays a critical role in helping operators such as OXY, Diamondback Energy, HighPeak Energy, and Ovintiv recycle produced water for hydraulic fracturing, reducing freshwater demand and disposal volumes while supporting ongoing drilling activity in the region.
An extended outage at Qatar’s Ras Laffan facility—the world’s largest liquefied natural gas export hub—could trigger a global supply shock by removing a significant share of LNG from international markets. If the disruption lasts several months, stronger global demand for alternative LNG cargoes could increase U.S. exports and push domestic natural gas prices higher.
The Casselman project represents a multi-section Midland Basin development operated by Fasken Oil and Ranch, deploying 20 horizontal Spraberry wells across 12 clustered pads within several Casselman unit leases in Midland County, Texas. The consistent projected depths, repeatable pad design, and centralized Casselman CTB facility indicate a factory-style development strategy co-developing stacked Spraberry/Wolfcamp benches with a steady drilling cadence of roughly 20 days between wells.
