ConocoPhillips’ Q3 2026 earnings call highlighted production growth, record Permian completion performance and plans to deliver further growth with modestly lower capital spending in 2027. The accompanying U.S. drilling dataset records 479 wells through November 2, led by Texas with 312, followed by New Mexico with 73, North Dakota with 59 and Alaska with 35. The Permian Basin and Eagle Ford together account for 385 records—80.4% of the total—while the top 10 contractor-and-rig combinations account for 223 wells. This report breaks down activity by state, county and basin, and identifies the rigs supporting ConocoPhillips’ drilling program.
Q3/2026 Summary
- ConocoPhillips reported Q3 2026 adjusted earnings of $3.27 per share, $7.2 billion in operating cash flow and approximately $4 billion in free cash flow.
- Production averaged 2.302 million BOE per day, with full-year production expected to average approximately 2.3 million BOE per day.
- The company returned $3.4 billion to shareholders and announced an 11% increase in its quarterly dividend.
- For 2027, management expects modestly lower capital spending, low single-digit underlying production growth and lower operating costs per BOE.
- Permian completion performance improved, with pumping hours increasing 15% versus 2025 and stimulated footage per day improving 20%.
- Surfactant-treated wells demonstrated approximately 20% higher oil productivity. Further applications are planned for 2027 across new and existing wells.
- The company is expanding far-field diverter technology in the Eagle Ford and Bakken to reduce frac interference and improve capital efficiency.
- Management highlighted more than 20 years of low-cost Permian inventory, with primary formations remaining the development priority.
- Willow remains on schedule for first oil in early 2029, with drilling expected to begin in 2027.
- A new Surmont pad in Canada started ahead of schedule and under budget, supporting further capital-efficient production growth.
- LNG offtake commitments reached 13 million tonnes annually, with Port Arthur and Qatar’s North Field East expected to contribute in 2027.
- Efficiencies are offsetting inflation, although availability of high-specification drilling rigs and frac equipment is tightening.
- ConocoPhillips completed its $5 billion divestment program and is evaluating offers for its Norway assets.
- Management targets a $7 billion increase in annual free cash flow by 2029, with continued growth beyond that date as major projects start producing and capital requirements decline.
Total record count: 479, representing 479 unique well licence numbers for ConocoPhillips Company. Activity dates range from January 1 to November 2, 2026.
Records by state
State Record count Texas 312 New Mexico 73 North Dakota 59 Alaska 35 Total 479
Counties grouped by play/basin
Play/basin Counties or source location labels (record count) Total Share Permian Basin Loving, TX (59); Lea, NM (43); Upton, TX (33); Eddy, NM (30); Martin, TX (19); Andrews, TX (12); Reeves, TX (12); Winkler, TX (8); Ector, TX (4) 220 45.9% Eagle Ford DeWitt (61); Karnes (54); Live Oak (34); McMullen (7); Gonzales (5); Atascosa (4)—all Texas 165 34.4% Bakken / Williston Basin McKenzie (46); Dunn (13)—both North Dakota 59 12.3% Alaska North Slope Harrison Bay (20); Beechey Point (15) 35 7.3% Total 479 100%
Basin assignments are geographic groupings inferred from location, rather than confirmed producing formations. Texas groupings align with the Railroad Commission’s Permian and Eagle Ford county lists; Alaska entries retain the source’s location labels.
Top 10 contractor-and-rig combinations
Rank Contractor and rig Record count 1 H&P 248 26 2 H&P 372 26 3 H&P 450 26 4 H&P 464 26 5 H&P 494 21 6 H&P 603 21 7 Nabors B20 20 8 H&P 627 19 9 Nabors X03 19 10 Precision 568 19 Total Top 10 combinations 223
These combinations account for 46.6% of all records. One record has no contractor-and-rig value; these counts represent wells associated with each rig across the reporting period, rather than current active rig counts.
ConocoPhillips’ U.S. drilling dataset records 479 wells through November 2, 2026, led by the Permian Basin with 220 and Eagle Ford with 165, followed by the Bakken/Williston Basin with 59 and Alaska North Slope with 35. The top 10 contractor-and-rig combinations account for 223 wells, while management’s Q3 commentary emphasizes completion efficiencies and lower capital spending to support continued production growth in 2027.
Author: phinds