Locator: 49365B.
Locator: 49365PHOENIX.
There was a recent article in Forbes regarding Phoenix Operating LLC. A reader, in an e-mail sidebar, asked me my thoughts which I provided.
Operators in the Bakken, the top five by mineral acreage:
For Phoenix Operating LLC:
About the best ChatGPT can do:
Look at the map below which is just Chord Energy and XTO. One can imagine that most of the rest of the white would be filled in by:
- Continental Resources (CLR);
- COP (BR); and,
- Devon.
So that's the first data point.
The second question that needs to be asked: how many acres of Tier 1 acreage do these operators have in the North Dakota Bakken.
Of course that's even harder to answer, but ChatGPT has answered the question to my satisfaction. I'll provide that answer by e-mail to known readers if they ask.
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The Bakken -- An RBN Energy Update
From the blog earlier today and last week.
From RBN Energy last week: link here.
Chord Energy/ExxonMobil’s Bakken Assets
Also on September 15, Chord Energy (CHRD), the largest producer in the Bakken since its $11 billion acquisition of Enerplus in May 2024, said it will purchase the remaining North Dakota production assets of ExxonMobil subsidiary XTO Energy for $550 million in cash in a deal expected to close by year’s end. The assets include 48,000 net acres (dark-blue areas in Figure 4 below) and 9 Mboe/d of production (78% oil), the vast majority of it in Dunn County and much of it within the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation (area outlined by dark-gray line). The XTO acreage being purchased is largely contiguous with Chord’s existing acreage (bright-green areas) and in some cases the deal will add to Chord’s working interest (WI; striped areas).
Formed in July 2022 with the merger of Whiting Petroleum and Oasis Petroleum, Chord Energy in June 2023 acquired 62,000 net acres and 6 Mboe/d of production from XTO for $375 million. In Q2 2025, Chord produced 281 Mboe/d (56% oil).
Chord Energy’s and XTO Energy’s Bakken Acreage
Figure 4. Chord Energy’s and XTO Energy’s Bakken Acreage. Source: Chord Energy
Chord Energy said the latest set of assets it is acquiring from XTO have breakeven economics in the $40s/bbl range and will “compete at the front end of Chord’s program.” The E&P noted that the contiguous nature of XTO’s drilling spacing units (DSUs) and proximity to Chord’s acreage “will facilitate 3- and 4-mile lateral development” — a fast-growing trend in western North Dakota.
