ExxonMobil’s second-quarter 2026 earnings call reinforced the Permian Basin’s central role in the company’s upstream growth strategy. Permian production exceeded a record 1.8 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, but management emphasized that its strategy is not simply based on drilling more wells. ExxonMobil is using longer laterals, improved completion designs and technology to recover more oil from each well while lowering capital requirements.
The company drilled 83 four-mile lateral wells during the first half of 2026. Since 2020, ExxonMobil has placed approximately 1,200 Permian wells with laterals of at least three miles into production, compared with roughly 400 for its nearest competitor.
ExxonMobil is also testing and deploying more than 40 technologies across its Permian operations. These include advanced proppants, surfactants, artificial intelligence, machine learning and real-time drilling data managed through its Houston remote operations centre. Management said the successful technologies are exceeding expectations and moving the company closer to its objective of doubling resource recovery.
XTO’s 2026 Permian permit position
XTO Energy’s 2026 well permit data supports ExxonMobil’s message that the Permian remains its primary U.S. development area. The dataset contains 654 well permits, with 559 permits—or approximately 85% of the total—located in the Permian Basin.
Play/Basin State 2026 permits Share of total Midland Basin Texas 409 62.5% Delaware Basin New Mexico and Texas 150 22.9% Williston Basin/Bakken North Dakota 51 7.8% Texas Gulf Coast Texas 33 5.0% Other areas Texas, Louisiana and Wyoming 11 1.7% Total 654 100%
The Midland Basin represents the largest concentration, accounting for 409 permits. Activity is spread across five core counties, led by Midland and Martin counties.
Midland Basin county State 2026 permits Midland Texas 145 Martin Texas 100 Glasscock Texas 73 Upton Texas 73 Reagan Texas 18 Midland Basin total 409
The Delaware Basin accounts for another 150 permits. Nearly all are in Eddy County, New Mexico, with a small number in Loving and Ward counties in Texas.
Delaware Basin county State 2026 permits Eddy New Mexico 147 Ward Texas 2 Loving Texas 1 Delaware Basin total 150
Large inventory supports continued development
Of XTO’s 654 permits, 302 have an Activity Date, indicating reported drilling or spud activity. The remaining 352 permits have no Activity Date, representing 53.8% of the total dataset.
Permit status Record count Share Activity Date reported 302 46.2% Activity Date blank 352 53.8% Total 654 100%
The large number of permits without an Activity Date provides ExxonMobil with a meaningful inventory of potential future drilling locations. However, a blank Activity Date does not necessarily mean that all 352 permits will be drilled immediately; it indicates that drilling activity had not been recorded in the source data.
Natural gas takeaway supports oil growth
ExxonMobil also discussed the addition of new natural gas pipelines in the Permian. Management expects the additional takeaway capacity to reduce transportation constraints and allow operators to maximize oil production without being restricted by the associated natural gas produced alongside it.
The company does not expect better gas takeaway to shift its Permian strategy toward gas-focused drilling. Instead, the primary objective remains increasing oil recovery, with additional natural gas and natural gas liquids entering the market as associated production.
Industry impact
ExxonMobil’s production results and XTO’s permit inventory point to continued large-scale Permian development, particularly in the Midland Basin and Eddy County. The opportunity for oilfield service companies may increasingly be tied to longer laterals, advanced completion technologies, proppant requirements, production optimization and infrastructure capable of handling growing associated gas volumes—not simply to increases in rig count.
Two-sentence summary: ExxonMobil produced more than 1.8 million barrels of oil equivalent per day from the Permian while using longer laterals and new technologies to increase recovery and reduce the number of wells required. XTO’s 2026 permit data shows 559 Permian permits, including 352 company-wide permits without an Activity Date, providing a substantial inventory to support future development.
Author: phinds