A diverse group of U.S. energy companies returned to well permitting last week after going at least 12 months without a new permit, highlighting renewed activity beyond the country’s largest shale operators. The group includes small conventional producers such as BIG M Petroleum, Dover Atwood, RHDK Oil & Gas and JD Producing in Ohio; Savoy Energy in Michigan; Coronado Energy Partners in Oklahoma; Goodrock Natural Resources and Patton Exploration in Texas; and Valley Resources in California’s Kern County.
What stands out in last week’s returning operators
| Operator/group | Geography | Activity type | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|---|
| BIG M, Carpenter, Dover Atwood, JD Producing, Mormack, RHDK, Tate Farms | Ohio | Mature conventional oil/gas | Small operators are still reinvesting in legacy Appalachian assets |
| Pennhills, Wilmoth | PA/NY Appalachia | Conventional + some unconventional | Older producing areas remain capable of incremental development |
| National Fuel / Seneca | Pennsylvania | Large-scale Marcellus/Utica | Core U.S. shale gas development continues alongside small conventional operators |
| Chisos | TX/NM/LA/MS | Mature conventional | Distributed Gulf Coast/Southwest production |
| Goodrock | West Texas | Conventional oil/gas | Smaller private capital remains active outside the shale majors |
| Patton Exploration | West Texas/Fisher County | Conventional + horizontal | Particularly interesting example of a smaller operator moving toward horizontal redevelopment |
| Coronado | Oklahoma | Ardmore Basin | Mature Mid-Continent basins still attracting capital |
| Savoy Energy | Michigan | Conventional oil | Incremental production from a non-core U.S. oil-producing state |
| JAECO/BlackHawk | New Mexico | San Juan Basin | Tribal-owned domestic resource development |
| Valley Resources | Kern County, California | Conventional oil | Potentially important because California remains a major consuming state but has seen declining domestic production |
| Hydra Services | ND/MT Williston | SWD/water | Infrastructure investment supporting Bakken production |
| Tallgrass Water | Wyoming PRB | SWD/water | Infrastructure supporting Powder River development |
| Pickton Gas Storage | Northeast Texas | Gas storage/pipeline | Investment in energy security infrastructure rather than simply production |
| WBI Energy Midstream | North Dakota | Gas/midstream | Infrastructure required to monetize domestic production |
| Zanskar | Nevada/West | Geothermal | Broadening definition of domestic energy development |
Appalachia accounted for a notable share of the returning activity. Alongside smaller conventional operators in Ohio and Pennsylvania, National Fuel Gas subsidiary Seneca Resources remains a major Marcellus and Utica producer with approximately 1,000 unconventional wells across a more than 1-million-net-acre Pennsylvania position. Pennhills Resources also represents a sizable conventional and unconventional footprint, reporting roughly 1,400 producing wells across Pennsylvania and New York. The combination illustrates the depth of the Appalachian market, where large shale development exists alongside thousands of mature conventional assets.
The permit activity also extends beyond traditional production. Hydra Services and Tallgrass Water Great Plains operate saltwater disposal and water-management infrastructure supporting the Williston and Powder River basins, while Pickton Gas Storage is advancing the redevelopment of a northeast Texas field into a planned 35-billion-cubic-foot natural gas storage facility. Pickton’s project is expected to include new horizontal storage wells, compression and a 45-mile pipeline connecting with five major pipeline systems. Zanskar Geothermal & Minerals adds another dimension, with geothermal exploration and drilling activity concentrated in the western United States.
For oilfield suppliers and contractors, the returning operators point to opportunities outside the major shale-development programs. Conventional drilling, workovers, well servicing, plugging, water handling, compression, pipeline construction and production optimization are particularly relevant across these mature operating areas.
Industry Impact
The activity reinforces the strategic depth behind the U.S. “safe barrel” position. North American supply is supported not only by large Permian and Bakken developments, but by a geographically distributed network of conventional producers, shale operators and infrastructure companies capable of investing in existing assets. That diversity provides additional supply optionality while creating service opportunities across Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Oklahoma, Michigan, California, New Mexico, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.
Two-Sentence Summary
U.S. operators across multiple mature oil and gas regions issued their first new well permits in at least 12 months, signaling renewed investment from conventional producers, shale operators and infrastructure companies. The activity highlights the geographic and operational diversity supporting North America’s position as a secure and flexible source of energy supply.
Operator List
BIG M Petroleum Corporation is a small independent oil and gas operator based in Marietta, Ohio, focused primarily on mature conventional vertical wells in southeastern Ohio. Public records indicate the company operates at least 17 producing wells, with most activity concentrated in Washington County.
Carpenter Bradley G Rhonda J is a small Quaker City, Ohio-based oil and gas operator with at least 3 producing conventional vertical wells identified in Guernsey County. Its portfolio appears focused on mature conventional production rather than active horizontal Utica/Marcellus drilling.
Chisos, Ltd. is a Houston-based independent oil and gas company founded in 1995 that operates approximately 40 producing wells, with properties across Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana and Mississippi. The company’s portfolio is primarily mature conventional production with a strong natural-gas component, supplemented by non-operated working interests, royalties and pipeline assets.
Coronado Energy Partners LLC is a Tulsa-based independent oil and gas operator with approximately 6 producing wells and an operating footprint concentrated in Oklahoma’s Carter County/Ardmore Basin.
Dover Atwood Corporation is a Massillon, Ohio-based independent oil and gas operator with at least 20 wells identified in public records, primarily consisting of mature conventional vertical wells across Stark and Carroll counties. Its portfolio is focused on maintaining and producing legacy oil and gas assets rather than large-scale horizontal Utica/Marcellus development.
Goodrock Natural Resources, LLC is a Tulsa-based independent oil and gas operator with approximately 33 producing wells concentrated primarily in Nolan and Coke counties, Texas.
Hydra Services, LLC is a Houston-based oilfield water and saltwater-disposal operator with approximately 40 wells associated with its operations across North Dakota and Montana, including 29 in North Dakota and 11 in Montana. Its footprint is concentrated in the Williston Basin’s McKenzie, Williams, Richland and Roosevelt counties, where it operates and continues to acquire or develop SWD infrastructure supporting Bakken oil and gas production.
JD Producing, Inc. is a small Burbank, Ohio-based conventional oil and gas producer historically operated by Jim Dilyard, with a portfolio of mature vertical wells in northeastern Ohio.
Jicarilla Apache Energy Corporation (JAECO), now operating as BlackHawk Energy Corporation, is a Jicarilla Apache Nation-owned oil and gas producer operating in New Mexico’s San Juan Basin across a tribal land position exceeding 1 million acres. Nearly 2,200 wells remain producing across Jicarilla Apache Nation lands, although that figure includes multiple operators and a reliable current count specifically operated by JAECO/BlackHawk could not be verified.
Mormack Ind Inc. is a small Ohio oil and gas operator with dozens of historical conventional vertical wells concentrated primarily in Wayne County and cumulative production of roughly 568,000 barrels of oil and 7.6 Bcf of gas.
Patton Exploration, Inc. is an Abilene-based independent Texas oil and gas operator with approximately 16 currently producing wells and a much larger historical portfolio across West and North-Central Texas. The company operates mature conventional properties while also pursuing newer horizontal development in Fisher County, including the Wolf, Knox and Kral units, making it a more active development prospect than its 16-well producing count alone suggests.
Pennhills Resources, LLC is a privately held Appalachian Basin oil and gas operator that reports approximately 1,400 producing conventional and unconventional wells across a 200,000-acre footprint in Pennsylvania and New York, along with more than 250 miles of midstream infrastructure. The company produces roughly 100,000 barrels of oil and 1.5 Bcf of natural gas annually and maintains an active drilling program, making it a significant regional target for drilling, production, well-service and midstream companies.
Pickton Gas Storage LLC is a Dallas-based natural gas storage and midstream company redeveloping the Pickton field in northeast Texas into a 35-Bcf high-deliverability storage facility with more than 700 MMcf/d of targeted deliverability. The company reached FID in July 2026 and plans new horizontal storage wells, compressor stations and a 45-mile pipeline connecting the facility to five major pipeline systems at the new Paris Hub, making it a significant near-term infrastructure development account.
RHDK Oil & Gas, LLC, doing business as Red Hill Development, is a Dover, Ohio-based conventional oil and gas operator with more than 100 producing wells identified across eastern Ohio, particularly in Coshocton, Harrison and Tuscarawas counties. Its portfolio consists predominantly of mature vertical wells, making the company more relevant for production, workover, maintenance and plugging services than for large-scale Utica horizontal drilling.
Savoy Energy LP is a private Michigan-focused independent oil and gas operator with approximately 44 currently producing wells, 38 producing leases and more than 500 total/historical well records across the state. The company produced roughly 27,400 barrels of oil in April 2026 and remains an active Michigan operator, with its largest well concentrations in Calhoun, Manistee, Jackson and Grand Traverse counties.
National Fuel Gas Company is a vertically integrated natural gas company whose upstream subsidiary, Seneca Resources Company, operates approximately 1,000 unconventional Marcellus and Utica shale wells across a more than 1-million-net-acre position in Pennsylvania. Seneca remains an active drilling and completion operator, with 52 gross wells in process at fiscal year-end 2025 and continued development activity in 2026, making it a major Appalachian drilling and oilfield-service target.
Seneca Resources Company, LLC is National Fuel Gas Company’s upstream E&P subsidiary and operates approximately 1,000 unconventional Marcellus and Utica shale wells across a more than 1-million-net-acre position in Pennsylvania. For CRM purposes, Seneca should be maintained as the upstream operator account under parent National Fuel Gas Company, particularly when associating drilling permits, wells and drilling/production contacts.
Tallgrass Water Great Plains LLC is a Wyoming oilfield water-management and disposal operator with 3 identified wells in the Powder River Basin, including 2 active SWD injection wells in Campbell County.
Tate Farms Company Ltd. is a family-owned agricultural and landholding company based in Shreve, Ohio, that operates one conventional vertical gas well in Medina County.
Valley Resources, LLC is a Bakersfield-based independent oil and gas operator actively developing conventional oil properties in Kern County, California, with multiple new wells permitted or proposed during 2026.
WBI Energy Midstream, LLC is an MDU Resources subsidiary based in Bismarck, North Dakota, focused on natural-gas gathering, midstream and related energy services rather than upstream oil and gas production, so I would assign it 0 producing wells.
White Gas Company is a small legacy West Virginia natural gas operator with historical production concentrated in Logan County and approximately 204 MMcf of cumulative gas production from 1988 through 2017. The company currently has 0 producing wells, with its identified Miller, Gilman #2 well classified as abandoned, making it a low-priority account for current oilfield-service prospecting.
Wilmoth Interests, Inc. is a fifth-generation, family-owned Pennsylvania oil and gas company with a substantial portfolio of mature conventional wells, including more than 50 active-status wells on its ANF 1 property alone and additional wells across several western Pennsylvania counties. Although its historical production totals approximately 198,000 barrels of oil and 11.4 Bcf of gas, aggregated data currently reports 0 wells with recent production, making Wilmoth primarily a mature conventional-asset account rather than an active drilling target.
Zanskar Geothermal & Minerals, Inc. is a Salt Lake City-based geothermal exploration and development company using AI and advanced geoscience to identify and develop geothermal resources across the western United States, with particularly active drilling programs in Nevada. I
Author: phinds