Shale Desk

Independent Desk.
Mid-Continent · Haynesville · Eagle Ford · Permian.
Activity, Takeaway, Oil & Gas Minerals
Sources Linked. Not Advice.

[Shale Desk @ShaleDesk]

This week in 1929: Pure Oil's Jarman No. 1 opened the Van field in Van Zandt County, Texas, flowing 147 barrels in its first hour from the Woodbine at about 2,700 ft. It set off a drilling boom east of Dallas.

https://t.co/0pf89ov6HW

[Shale Desk @ShaleDesk]

Week ahead: Columbus Day pushes EIA's weekly petroleum report to Thu Oct 15 at noon ET, so the inventory data has to wait a day too. The Baker Hughes rig count lands Fri Oct 16. Last week: US 603, Permian 274, Haynesville 57, OK 51.

https://t.co/Iak6vbsFn6

[Shale Desk @ShaleDesk]

A DUC is a drilled but uncompleted well. It's drilled but not fracked or producing yet. For WI owners, that's money in the ground with no checks coming out. Operators line DUCs up like ducks in a row to time completions.

[Shale Desk @ShaleDesk]

Number of the week: 24.7M. Cushing crude stocks reached 24.745M bbl in the week ended Oct 2 (+444k), up ~2.8M since Sep 4 after a sub-19M summer. The tanks are slowly filling back up.

https://t.co/oqw8uFgPMO

[Shale Desk @ShaleDesk]

Oklahoma gross production tax on oil and gas reached $1.2B over the past 12 months, up $101.4M (+9.5%). September collections rose 6.3% year over year.

https://t.co/vPqquvGEof

[Shale Desk @ShaleDesk]

Midcon: Continental averaged 24 rigs in the week ended Sep 25 (Enverus), up from 13.9 last quarter. And in the Delaware, Matador closed Ridge Runner, building ~50k net acres in the Woodford.

[Shale Desk @ShaleDesk]

Biggest deal of the week: Devon is exiting the Eagle Ford, selling ~90k net acres in Karnes/DeWitt/Gonzales to Crescent for $4.2B cash (~68 Mboe/d, 600+ Tier 1 locations). 🧵

[Shale Desk @ShaleDesk]

Haynesville: Centalion is buying Silver Hill for ~$1.5B (~72k net acres, ~300 MMcfd), and Comstock/SOCAR signed a $1.65B framework.

[Shale Desk @ShaleDesk]

Baker Hughes US rig count: 603 (+5) for the week ended Oct 9, back above 600. Oil 462 (+6), gas 132 (-1). Permian 274 (+4), Haynesville 57 (+1), Oklahoma 51 (-1). The Permian led the gains. @bakerhughesco

[Shale Desk @ShaleDesk]

Haynesville M&A has hit $7.8B so far in 2026, outpacing the Permian, per a J.P. Morgan analyst. Recent deals include Centalion's ~$1.5B Silver Hill buy and Williams closing its $5.5B Momentum Midstream deal.

https://t.co/DGmFMMuFrI

[Shale Desk @ShaleDesk]

East Texas Haynesville permits jumped 86% in September: 39 new-well permits from the RRC vs 21 in August, the most since May. 32 in Carthage (Haynesville Shale); Silver Hill led with 10. Gas patch paperwork is having a moment.

https://t.co/RQAwzKbExz

[Shale Desk @ShaleDesk]

Matador $MTDR closed its Ridge Runner buy from EnCap: ~13,600 net acres, lifting its Delaware Woodford position to ~50,000 net acres and adding 150+ net locations. Its Rae's Creek well averaged 1,000+ bopd over its first 100 days. Up to 15 wells planned by YE2027.

https://t.co/55oMKkvoL4

[Shale Desk @ShaleDesk]

OCC approved two Validus Energy II Mississippian multi-unit permits in Custer Co on Oct 5: Snipe 2HM and Snipe BIA 3HM from Sec 10-13N-14W, crossing 15, 22 and 27. Laterals are 19,334 and 19,698 ft (~3.7 mi), with ~31,300-31,600 ft measured depth.

https://t.co/kp1UryPH2J

[Shale Desk @ShaleDesk]

Paying for the Eagle Ford: Crescent launched a $1.0B stock offering (+$150M option), and KKR's affiliate has indicated interest in up to $500M. Napkin math says ~$3.85B net / ~68 Mboe/d is ~$57k per flowing boe/d. Nobody said Tier 1 came cheap.

https://t.co/FbjN0xSd1P

[Shale Desk @ShaleDesk]

Two people were killed Tuesday in a pipeline explosion and fire in the oilfield near US 176 and Bootleg Road in Lea County, NM, near Eunice. The sheriff's office calls it an industrial accident under investigation. Thoughts are with their families.

https://t.co/xy4hWNkZ2d

[Shale Desk @ShaleDesk]

Haynesville leasing keeps spreading in Natchitoches Parish, LA: 53 oil and gas filings in September brought 2026 to 624 through Sep, vs 405 in all of 2025. Leases now run east of I-49, toward the Sabine line, south of Robeline and south of Ashland.

https://t.co/ZLRdgrb2bb

[Shale Desk @ShaleDesk]

Continental Resources went from 13.9 rigs last quarter to 24.0 in the week ended Sep 25 (Enverus via @Rigzone), up ~73% and 5th in the US behind Exxon, Devon, ConocoPhillips and EOG. The Oklahoma City crew is turning to the right.

https://t.co/api6wKIA1s

[Shale Desk @ShaleDesk]

Eagle Ford changes hands: @DevonEnergy sells ~90,000 net acres in Karnes/DeWitt/Gonzales to Crescent Energy for $4.2B cash. ~68 Mboe/d, 600+ Tier 1 locations, proceeds to buybacks and debt. Weeks after BP walked from the data room, Crescent said yes.

https://t.co/0vJub4nEYI