Overview
West Texas Next Tier targets 43 high value operators have measurable drilling activity in 2026 that gives oilfield service teams a reason to engage. This account list combines wells, rigs, permits, plays and county information to show where opportunities may be developing. The package also includes 100’s of contacts that work for these operators that includes roles and locations needed to turn those signals into relevant sales conversations.
The Operator market intel and contacts provides a sales campaign ready for you to help you grow your sales.
Account Summary
The September 27, 2026 report identifies 43 Next Tier operators that each drilled at least two wells in 2026, with 159 wells drilled across the group. Fourteen operators have a reported rig, and 12 have a permit in the last 60 days. The list also includes play, county, prior-year drilling, permit history and researched Texas well counts to help sales teams distinguish new-well opportunities from production-service prospects.
Contact Summary
The developing contact sample includes people in field production and operations, drilling and completions, engineering, land, geoscience, leadership, finance, automation and HSE. LinkedIn profile locations are concentrated around Midland–Odessa and Greater Houston, with additional contacts in West Texas communities, Dallas–Fort Worth and the Oklahoma City area. Coverage is not complete; titles, company affiliations and locations should be confirmed before outreach.
Who Is on the Account List?
Every account in this edition is classified as Next Tier and shows at least two wells drilled in 2026. The report brings together three kinds of information:
- Development history: Wells drilled in 2025 and 2026, plus permit activity from 2024 through 2026.
- Timing signals: Reported rigs and permits in the last 60 days and last 12 months.
- Account context: Play, county, researched producing-well footprint, operating-entity match and available company contact details.
“Next Tier” is the classification supplied in the report. The file does not document a formal rig-count or annual-well threshold for the category. Some records identify North or Central Texas plays, so teams covering only West Texas should filter by county and play.
Contact Intelligence
Types of Contacts
- Field and production operations: Lease operators, pumpers, production foremen, operations managers and superintendents.
- Drilling, completions and engineering: Drilling and completions managers, engineers, advisors and consultants, along with production and reservoir engineers.
- Planning and leadership: Land and geoscience professionals, presidents, CEOs, COOs, vice presidents and directors.
- Supporting functions: Automation, HSE, finance, accounting and administration.
Where Contacts Are Located
Midland–Odessa and Greater Houston are the primary location hubs in the current sample. West Texas locations also include Big Spring, Andrews, Seminole, Lamesa and Pecos. Smaller groups list Dallas–Fort Worth and the Oklahoma City area.
Five Sales Segments
Assign each account one primary segment based on its reported rig and recent permit activity. Then prioritize within the segment by play, county, well count, service fit and verified contacts.
1. Active Development — 4 Operators
Criteria: A reported rig and a permit in the last 60 days.
Sales approach: Contact these operators first. Verify the permitted wells and rig, then ask about the next location, work schedule and vendor-selection process. Perun Energy, Arrington Oil & Gas, Yukon Exploration and Stonehill Dawson are in this segment.
2. Drilling Now — 10 Operators
Criteria: A reported rig but no permit in the last 60 days.
Sales approach: Confirm the active well and next planned pad. Focus on drilling, completions and field services connected to work underway. Saxum and Permian Deep Rock are examples.
3. Preparing to Drill — 8 Operators
Criteria: A permit in the last 60 days but no reported rig.
Sales approach: Reach drilling and operations contacts early. Confirm permit status and ask when equipment and services will be selected. Laguna Resources and Mid-States Operating are examples.
4. Recent Development, Larger Program — 6 Operators
Criteria: No reported rig or permit in the last 60 days, but at least five wells drilled in 2026.
Sales approach: Lead with the recently developed well base. Discuss artificial lift, automation, production chemicals, monitoring and workovers. This segment includes Iron Orchard, Langford & Brigham and NorthStar Resources.
5. Smaller or Intermittent Program — 15 Operators
Criteria: No reported rig or permit in the last 60 days, with two to four wells drilled in 2026.
Sales approach: Qualify producing-well needs and maintain a lighter contact cadence. Move an account into a higher-priority segment when a new permit or rig appears.
Recommended workflow: Review the first three segments weekly for new-well opportunities. Use the final two segments for production-service outreach and activity monitoring. The 21 operators without a reported rig or recent permit still drilled 85 wells in 2026, so they should not be removed from the sales plan.
Report Field Glossary
Activity and Classification
- Account Name: Operator name used in the list.
- Play: Assigned basin and formation. Multiple plays are comma-separated.
- County: Texas county or counties associated with the activity.
- Rig Count: Rigs attributed to the operator. The CSV does not state the precise observation date.
- Wells Drilled 2026: Wells attributed to the operator in 2026 through the report date; this is not a producing-well count.
- Wells Drilled 2025: Wells attributed to the operator in calendar 2025.
- Permits Last 12 Months: Permits attributed during the rolling 12-month period.
- Permits Last 60 Days: Permits attributed during the rolling 60-day period.
- Permits CY + PY-1 + PY-2: Combined permits for 2026, 2025 and 2024 in this edition.
- Air Permits Since 2024: Count of associated air permits from 2024 onward. Permit type and project status are not specified in the CSV.
- Owner Change: Numeric ownership-change field populated for a few accounts. Its event definition and counting period are not documented.
- Operator Classification: Account category; all records in this edition are marked Next Tier.
Well Footprint and Account Identity
- Active Producing Wells TX: Researched active producing Texas wells for the matched operator. Some counts are statewide rather than limited to West Texas.
- Total Wellbores TX: Researched Texas wellbore count, where available. It may include wells that are not producing.
- Matched Operating Entity: Legal operating name used for well-count research. It may differ from the account name.
- Ticker Symbol: Public-market ticker where supplied.
- EnerLead ID: Internal account identifier used to join account and contact data.
Company and Contact Information
- Website: Company website, where found.
- Website Contact: Link to a company contact page, where found.
- Company Email: General company email address, where found.
- Linkedin Company Page: LinkedIn company-page URL.
- Street, City, State/Province and Postal Code: Available office or mailing address fields; these do not necessarily identify a field-operation location.
- Linkedin Account ID: Numeric identifier associated with the LinkedIn company account.
- LinkedIn Company Id: A separate LinkedIn ID field populated for one account; its relationship to the other ID is not documented.
- Phone: Available company phone number.
- Email Pattern: Example or proposed employee email format. Verify it before generating addresses.
Research Trail
- Active Wells Source: URL supporting the active producing-well count.
- Total Wells Source: URL supporting the total-wellbore count.
- Well Count Research Note: Account-specific qualification, such as a statewide count or an operating-entity match requiring confirmation.
Blank enrichment fields mean that no value was supplied in this edition. They do not establish that an operator lacks a website, contacts or producing wells.
Start With the Reason to Call
Use the operator’s play and county to establish fit, its rig and permit activity to assess timing, and its drilled and producing wells to choose the right service conversation. Match that opportunity to a relevant contact title, then verify the project and the person’s current role before outreach.
