Houston-based Occidental Petroleum and its subsidiary 1PointFive said this week they expect Phase I of the STRATOS direct air capture plant in Ector County in Permian Basin will come online in second quarter.  1PointFive said Phase 1 “is in the final stage of startup.”  Phase 2, which incorporates learnings from research and development and Phase […]

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said last week it ended protections for the lesser prairie chicken from the Endangered Species Act.  The Feb. 25 ruling eliminates the Biden-era requirements for the oil, gas and cattle industries to safeguard the birds’ habitat in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado and Kansas. Albuquerque Journal said lesser prairie chickens […]

For only the third time in 2026, U.S. reported a declining count of active drilling rigs.  Baker Hughes said in its weekly report of Feb. 27 there were 550 rigs in U.S. (down 1 from the previous week and down 43 or 7.25 percent from 593 a year ago).  It’s the first U.S. declining rig […]

Midland-based MCM Delaware Resources said last week it closed acquisition of crude oil and natural gas assets from Battalion Oil Corp. at a reported $62.59 million.  The assets include 6,207 net acres in West Quito Draw area of Ward County in the southern Delaware Basin.  The transaction “expands MCM’s position across multiple benches and adds […]

Midland-based Diamondback Energy said last week it forecasts 2026 crude oil production guidance of 500,000-to-510,000 barrels per day and 926,000-to-962,000 boed.  That follows 4Q production of 512,800 b/d of oil and 969,100 boed and fullyear 2025 production of 497,200 b/d of oil and 921,000 boed.  Fullyear cash capital expenditures for 2026 are forecast at $3.6 […]

Fort Worth-based Brazos Midstream recently started construction on a new natural gas processing complex in Glasscock County in west Texas.  It includes Cassidy I, a cryogenic natural gas processing facility with capacity of 300 million cfd.  Completion is expected by yearend 2026, and it will increase Brazos’ total natural gas processing capacity in the Midland […]

Houston-based Conduit Power recently made financial agreements with Midland’s Diamondback Energy and Granite Ridge Resources to develop 200 megawatts of new natural gas power generation facilities for the sale of energy and related services to ERCOT.  Conduit will build, own and operate a total of 200 megawatts of distributed power generation capacity in west Texas. […]

Houston-based startup chemical manufacturer Blue Pony Energy said recently it will build a clean fuels manufacturing plant in Lovington in Lea County, N.M.  CEO Justin Rencurel told Albuquerque Journal Feb. 9 the company “turns natural gas into cleaner-burning fuels and industrial materials.”  Blue Pony will use the Lovington plant in Permian Basin to produce low-carbon […]

After a decade of portfolio transformation, Occidental Petroleum president and CEO Vicki Hollub said last week the company will “no longer require transformative acquisitions.  Instead, our teams are focused on what they do best, and that is execution, including cost reduction, capital efficiency and well performance.” Oxy said guidance for 2026 capital spending has been […]

Midland-based WT Oil & Gas and EnviroKlean recently announced the launch of a zero solids recycle system, a next-generation, solids-free produced water recycling system engineered for high-volume oilfield operations in Permian Basin.  It’s designed to process up to 150,000 barrels per day, allow operators to recycle produced water without generating waste solids, and eliminate the […]