Salt Creek Midstream has filed a permit for the King George 2026 Compressor Station in Ward County, Texas, signaling expanding natural gas infrastructure in the Delaware Basin. The project reflects growing associated gas volumes from active drilling programs led by operators such as APA, Crescent Energy, and Continental Resources, which are driving continued development in the region.
Louisiana drilling activity remained steady over the last 30 days, with 25 rigs operating across nine parishes, the majority concentrated in the Haynesville Shale in North Louisiana. A small group of operators led by Apex Natural Gas, Aethon Energy, Expand Energy, and BPX Energy continues to drive most of the drilling activity as companies focus on disciplined development rather than expanding rig fleets.
U.S. crude oil exports declined 3% in 2025 to 4.0 million barrels per day, marking the first annual drop since 2021 despite record production of 13.6 million b/d. The decrease was largely driven by lower shipments to Europe and Asia, as more crude went to U.S. refineries and Strategic Petroleum Reserve stock builds.
ExxonMobil plans to move its legal domicile from New Jersey to Texas, aligning its incorporation with the state where its headquarters and a large portion of its workforce are already based. The company says the move will better protect it from shareholder litigation and reflects Texas’s more business-friendly legal environment and support for the oil and gas industry.
ExxonMobil Chief Economist Tyler Goodspeed warned that markets may be underestimating the likelihood that the Strait of Hormuz could remain effectively closed for longer than expected amid rising geopolitical tensions. He emphasized that energy supply shocks have historically been “serial killers” of economic expansions, raising concerns that a prolonged disruption could trigger a global economic downturn.
Oil and gas has advanced through three waves of technology-driven efficiency: Innovation, which unlocked shale resources through engineering breakthroughs; Industrialization, which turned shale development into a factory-style drilling process; and Automation, where AI and data systems are beginning to optimize operations in real time. Together, these waves are enabling operators to produce more energy with fewer rigs, lower costs, and faster decision-making.
The Bakken formation in North Dakota became one of the world’s most important shale oil regions through horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, but current wells recover only a small portion of the oil in place. A new initiative exploring CO₂ enhanced oil recovery (EOR) aims to inject captured carbon dioxide into reservoirs to increase recovery rates, potentially unlocking billions of additional barrels of oil and extending the life of the Bakken.
Oil prices surged above $119 per barrel amid escalating tensions involving Iran, triggering a broad market selloff and heightened volatility as investors weigh potential supply disruptions and inflation risks.
Patterson-UTI rigs were heavily concentrated in the Permian Basin in 2025, supporting major development programs for operators such as Mewbourne Oil Company, Chevron U.S.A. Inc., and Matador Resources. Most rigs maintained efficient pad-drilling cycles of roughly 15–20 days per well, reflecting the continued shift toward high-throughput, factory-style shale development across the Delaware and Midland basins.
Permian Resources is using AI and large language models to rapidly process proprietary drilling and subsurface data in Eddy County, giving the company a faster decision-making advantage in identifying new drilling opportunities and expanding play boundaries. In 2026, the company drilled 34 wells across 18 well pads in Eddy County using primarily Helmerich & Payne rigs, targeting multiple Delaware Basin fields including Avalon, Gatuna Canyon, Winchester, and Cedar Hills.
