Diamondback Energy is positioning the Barnett as an increasingly important part of its Midland Basin development strategy.
During its second-quarter 2026 earnings call, management said its Barnett acreage has continued to expand and become more consolidated. That gives the company an opportunity to drill longer laterals, lower development costs and transition from individual test wells to larger, repeatable development programs.
Diamondback’s 2026 well-permit activity supports that direction. Of the 394 Diamondback permit records reviewed, 30 are associated with the PEART (BARNETT) field.
Diamondback’s 2026 permits by field
| Field | Permit records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| SPRABERRY (TREND AREA) Primary Field | 351 | 89.1% |
| PEART (BARNETT) Primary Field | 30 | 7.6% |
| SPRABERRY | 12 | 3.0% |
| COYANOSA (DELAWARE SD.) Primary Field | 1 | 0.3% |
| Total | 394 | 100.0% |
The Spraberry remains the dominant target in Diamondback’s 2026 permit portfolio. However, the 30 Barnett permits show that the formation is moving beyond a small technical evaluation program and toward a more meaningful development position.
First full-section Barnett development underway
Diamondback said its first four-well Barnett pad at Spanish Trail has been drilled and was scheduled for completion in the coming months.
Management expects results from the development around the end of 2026 or the beginning of 2027. The pad is important because it represents a more comprehensive test of Barnett development economics.
Earlier activity generally involved only one or two wells at a time. The Spanish Trail project will allow Diamondback to evaluate a full-section development using an electric simul-frac crew.
This should provide better information about:
- Full-cycle drilling and completion costs
- Well productivity across a larger development unit
- Completion efficiency using electric equipment
- Optimal well spacing and lateral design
- The economics of scaling the Barnett program in 2027
Diamondback also noted that Viper Energy owns mineral interests associated with portions of the development. Those mineral interests could improve consolidated returns by reducing the royalty burden flowing outside the Diamondback organization.
Barnett drilling costs approach $400 per foot
Cost reduction is central to Diamondback’s Barnett strategy.
Management said its Barnett drilling costs are approaching $400 per lateral foot. Some wells have already been drilled below that level, although the company estimated that another 5%–10% improvement may be required to consistently achieve costs of approximately $400 per foot or less.
Reaching that level would help make Barnett returns competitive with Diamondback’s established development inventory.
The company expects additional savings from:
- Longer laterals
- Full-section development
- Electric frac fleets
- Simultaneous fracturing operations
- Higher daily completed footage
- Improved surface and facility designs
- Repetition across a larger development program
Diamondback reported more than 21 hours of average pumping time per day during the quarter. Some pads exceeded 5,000 completed feet per day, demonstrating how its manufacturing-style completion model can lower costs across emerging development zones.
Permit activity concentrated in the Midland Basin
The dataset does not contain a dedicated play or basin grouping field. Using the listed field names, the permits can be organized into the following development groups:
Derived play and basin Included fields Permit records Spraberry play — Midland Basin SPRABERRY and SPRABERRY (TREND AREA) 363 Barnett play — Midland Basin PEART (BARNETT) 30 Delaware Basin COYANOSA (DELAWARE SD.) 1 Total 394
The results show that 393 of the 394 permit records are associated with the Midland Basin. The Barnett represents approximately 7.6% of Diamondback’s total 2026 permit portfolio and approximately 7.6% of its identified Midland Basin permits.
While still much smaller than the Spraberry program, the Barnett has established a visible position in the company’s development pipeline.
Barnett value increases to “a couple of billion”
One of management’s most significant comments concerned the Barnett’s contribution to Diamondback’s net asset value.
CEO Kaes Van’t Hof said the Barnett had progressed from contributing only a few hundred million dollars to the company’s estimated NAV to contributing “a couple of billion.”
That increase appears to reflect several developments:
- Expansion of Diamondback’s Barnett acreage
- Consolidation of acreage into larger drilling blocks
- Longer lateral opportunities
- Better-than-expected drilling performance
- Falling drilling costs
- More confidence in well productivity
- Additional value from Viper’s mineral ownership
Diamondback and Double Eagle are continuing to lease and consolidate Barnett acreage. Management said the position was assembled at a low cash cost and is now worth multiples of the original investment.
The company is also completing smaller transactions that increase working interests, extend laterals and consolidate development units. These transactions may not generate major headlines individually, but they can improve the economics of future pads.
Barnett development will increase natural-gas exposure
The Barnett is expected to become a larger part of Diamondback’s development plan, which means it could gradually increase the company’s natural-gas production and gas-to-oil ratio.
That growth aligns with Diamondback’s broader natural-gas strategy. The company is pursuing additional pipeline capacity, Gulf Coast market access and new sources of in-basin demand.
A significant example is Diamondback’s proposed power and data-center development at Bryant Ranch near Midland. The project could provide a new outlet for approximately 200–250 MMcf/d of natural gas.
Diamondback is targeting a commercial structure that could provide Waha-linked pricing with a floor. Such an arrangement would be particularly valuable when Permian gas takeaway constraints cause weak or negative Waha prices.
Diamondback does not intend to become a power producer or data-center operator. Instead, it plans to contribute natural gas, land, water and regional operating expertise.
A growing Barnett program could therefore complement the company’s effort to connect Permian gas production with power generation, data centers, Gulf Coast customers and LNG export markets.
Infrastructure spending expected to rise
Scaling the Barnett will require additional facilities.
Diamondback said some Barnett acreage does not have the existing infrastructure needed for large-scale development. The company will have to construct new production batteries and related facilities designed for the operating characteristics of Barnett wells.
Management expects its non-drilling and completion capital to increase slightly in 2027. Infrastructure spending should be higher during the initial development stage and then decline as the core system is established.
Diamondback is also working to minimize non-producing capital by standardizing facilities, extending laterals and spreading infrastructure costs across more productive footage.
Almost half of the permit records have no activity date
Of the 394 permit records, 189 do not have a recorded activity date.
Activity-date status Permit records Share Activity date populated 205 52.0% No activity date recorded 189 48.0% Total 394 100.0%
The Barnett accounts for 21 of the records without an activity date.
Field Records without an activity date SPRABERRY (TREND AREA) Primary Field 162 PEART (BARNETT) Primary Field 21 SPRABERRY 5 COYANOSA (DELAWARE SD.) Primary Field 1 Total 189
A missing activity date does not necessarily mean a permit has been cancelled or abandoned. It generally indicates that subsequent drilling activity had not been recorded in the dataset at the time it was extracted.
The 21 Barnett records without activity dates therefore represent an important group to monitor. As drilling begins, those permits could provide an early indication of the pace at which Diamondback is converting its Barnett inventory into active development.
What the Barnett means for Diamondback
Diamondback’s comments suggest that the Barnett is moving through three important stages:
- Acreage consolidation: Diamondback and Double Eagle are assembling larger, more contiguous development blocks.
- Technical and cost validation: The company is testing full-section development, longer laterals and electric simul-frac completions.
- Commercial scaling: If the Spanish Trail results support management’s expectations, the Barnett could receive more capital in 2027.
The Barnett is not replacing Diamondback’s core Spraberry development. The permit data clearly shows that the Spraberry remains the foundation of its drilling program.
Instead, the Barnett is expanding the company’s economic inventory and providing another location where Diamondback can apply its low-cost operating model. It also adds natural-gas supply that may benefit from improving Permian takeaway capacity and growing regional power demand.
The most important milestones will be the Spanish Trail pad results, consistent drilling costs near or below $400 per foot, the conversion of currently inactive permits into drilling activity and the level of Barnett capital included in Diamondback’s 2027 development plan.
If those indicators remain positive, the Barnett could develop from an emerging secondary target into a material new growth platform for Diamondback Energy.
Author: phinds