Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a competitive advantage in the Permian Basin, and Permian Resources is one of the companies leading that shift. During its Q3 2025 earnings call, company executives highlighted how AI tools and advanced data workflows are helping the company unlock new insights and accelerate decision-making—particularly in Eddy County, New Mexico, one of the most active oil and gas regions in North America.
Eddy County: A Data Advantage
Permian Resources has been one of the most active operators and acreage buyers in Eddy County over the past several years. This activity has created a significant advantage: access to large volumes of proprietary data.
Every well the company drills generates valuable information including:
- Production data
- Well logs
- Seismic data
- Completion performance metrics
Because this data becomes public only after a delay of six months or more, Permian Resources often has an early information advantage over competitors. Permian Resources Corporation (…
Executives say that having access to this large internal dataset allows them to better understand the subsurface geology and identify new opportunities across the basin.
AI Speeds Up the Decision Cycle
Historically, integrating geological and operational data into decision-making workflows could take weeks or months. Engineers, geologists, and land teams often worked sequentially, passing insights from one department to another.
Permian Resources is now using large language models and AI-driven workflows to dramatically accelerate this process.
Instead of waiting weeks for data analysis and cross-team communication, AI tools allow the company to:
- Process drilling and production data much faster
- Share insights across departments in near real-time
- Improve coordination between engineering, land, and business development teams
Executives explained that these AI tools allow insights that once took weeks to circulate across the organization to now move within minutes. Permian Resources Corporation (…
This faster flow of information helps teams respond more quickly to changing field conditions and investment opportunities.
Expanding Play Boundaries with Data
One of the most important applications of AI at Permian Resources is identifying new drilling opportunities.
In Eddy County and across the Delaware Basin, the company is using AI-driven data analysis to:
- Evaluate new drilling zones
- Expand play boundaries
- Optimize future development plans
The company says that new zones are still being discovered across the basin, sometimes competing economically with the best existing areas.
Executives noted that the Delaware Basin continues to surprise operators with new productive layers, allowing companies to expand their inventory without acquiring new acreage. Permian Resources Corporation (…
Organic Inventory Expansion
Another advantage of operating in New Mexico is how mineral rights work.
Unlike many regions where drilling a well holds only specific zones, state and federal leases in New Mexico often hold all depths once a well is drilled. This allows operators to explore additional zones later without losing lease rights.
Permian Resources says this dynamic allows them to:
- Observe new zones drilled by neighboring operators
- Evaluate the results using their internal data
- Selectively test new formations themselves
The company plans to drill a limited number of wells each year to test these emerging zones while benefiting from insights generated by nearby operators. Permian Resources Corporation (…
Permian Resources – Eddy County 2026 Well Pads
Using well coordinate clustering (≤60 meters) to identify drilling pads, 34 wells drilled by Permian Resources in Eddy County during 2026 group into 18 distinct well pads across several active Delaware Basin fields.
PAD Name Field Wells Drilling Rig(s) Avg Projected Depth (ft) KOALA 9 FED COM OLD MILLMAN RANCH 2 H&P 602 7,289 FRED STATE COM CEDAR HILLS 3 H&P 510 24,256 MEZCAL 10 FED COM GATUNA CANYON 3 H&P 496 8,758 JAKKU 36 FED COM BENSON 2 H&P 296 9,569 MEZCAL 10 FED COM GATUNA CANYON 2 H&P 489 8,173 JAKKU 36 FED COM BENSON 1 H&P 615 9,605 SAFARI STATE COM AVALON 1 H&P 452 13,176 TAIPAN 21 FED COM EAST AVALON 2 H&P 496 7,984 TAIPAN 21 FED COM EAST AVALON 2 H&P 496 7,433 FOSTERS 16 FED COM EAST AVALON 2 H&P 510 8,910 FOSTERS 16-15 FED COM EAST AVALON 1 H&P 602 8,555 BOLANDER 32 STATE FED COM FADEAWAY RIDGE 2 H&P 602 8,801 DAKOTA 32 STATE FED COM WINCHESTER 2 H&P 452 8,771 ALPINE 7 11 STATE WEST WINCHESTER 1 H&P 489 23,959 SLIM JIM 14-15 FED COM NORTH SHUGART 2 H&P 375 8,575 SLIM JIM 14-15 FED COM TAMANO 2 H&P 493 8,703 LAJITAS 5 4 STATE COM WEST WINCHESTER 2 H&P 489 16,990 LAJITAS 5 4 STATE COM WEST WINCHESTER 2 H&P 452 16,936
Most of the wells are being drilled using Helmerich & Payne (H&P) rigs, reflecting the continued dominance of H&P in Permian Basin drilling operations.
The well pads are spread across several Delaware Basin fields including Avalon, Gatuna Canyon, Winchester, Cedar Hills, and Benson, highlighting the geographic diversity of Permian Resources’ development program in Eddy County.
The Bigger Picture
Executives emphasized that innovation in the Permian Basin is far from slowing down. New drilling techniques, completion technologies, and analytical tools are continuously emerging.
AI is simply the latest step in that evolution—helping companies turn massive volumes of operational data into actionable intelligence.
And in places like Eddy County, where drilling activity is intense and datasets are growing rapidly, the companies that can process information fastest may ultimately gain the greatest competitive advantage.
