Locator: 48801CHORD.
Tag: Phoenix Energy.
Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. This is meant for one reader who asked about the market and Chord somehow came up in the discussion. So, it's simply a note with regard to a specific issue; it is not a recommendation for investing.
Background: in a sidebar discussion (via e-mail) with a reader earlier this morning, Chord Energy came up in discussion.
I asked ChatGPT to provide a list of the top producers in the North Dakota Bakken. The first reply was incredibly wrong and I pointed out to ChatGPT that Chord Energy now has three wholly-owned subsidiaries: Oasis, Whiting, and Enerplus. With that information, I asked ChatGPT to re-run the data.
The second answer from ChatGPT failed to note that Grayson Mill was acquired by Devon Energy, so I had to ask a third time, point that out. This is the third "run" by ChatGPT with regard to this query.
So, I cannot vouch for the accuracy of what follows, but here is ChatGPT's list of top Bakken producers, North Dakota, 2024 - 2025. My hunch: it's based on a combination of current and old information and may not be completely accurate:
1. Chord Energy -- Whiting, Oasis, and Enerplus:
- estimated production: 287,000 boepd, 56% oil, 4Q23
- net acreage: 1.3 million acres; 98% in North Dakota; balance not mentioned but probably Montana
- "now the largest operator by far in the region thanks to the Enerplus acquisition and prior merger between Oasis and Whiting"
- it's my understanding that royalties from Chord now come from three entities: Chord-Oasis; Chord-Whiting; and Chord-Enerplus.
2. Devon Energy (acquired Grayson Mill):
- estimated production: 150,000 boepd
- net acres: 430,000
3. CLR:
- estimated production: 140,000 boepd
- net acreage: 1.14 million acres
- this information may have been acquired when CLR was a publicly traded company, which was several years ago;
- not sure how ChatGPT would have access to this information if CLR chose not to report it somewhere
4. Chevron (via Hess):
- estimated production: 208,000 boepd from acquired Hess operations
- net acreage: 465,000 acres in the Bakken following acquisition of Hess
5. ExxonMobil (XTO Energy):
- production: 100,000 boepd though it has sold portions of its Bakken assets
- net mineral acreage: 515,000 acres
6. EOG:
- producing: less than 100,000 estimated;
- net acreage: 231,000 net acres in the Bakken
It took three attempts with ChatGPT to get this information; I assume the information is fairly accurate but with so many errors by ChatGPT the first two times (and major errors) one wonders.
Thinking out loud / rambling: I owned shares in Chord Energy for awhile after it acquired Oasis but then sold all my shares in Chord when it acquired Whiting. I always felt that Enerplus was the best of the three (Oasis, Whiting, and Enerplus.
In the sidebar discussion with the reader I mentioned that I wish I still owned Chord but I am now so heavily weighted in oil I simply can't afford to have any more energy in my portfolio. However, paying a dividend of 7%; having a P/E of 7; and, being the top producer in the Bakken, Chord is looking pretty good (within the oil sector). I will raise cash (I'm always fully invested) by selling a dividend-paying ETF and substitute that ETF for Chord. I would still be looking at Chord as a takeover target.
That still leaves me with too much energy in my portfolio, so over the next few days / weeks, I will see if there's an energy position I can sell to offset any Chord I might buy.
If that makes sense.
Not mentioned by ChatGPT in this thread, when specifically asked, ChatGPT says Phoenix Operating (Phoenix Capital Group --> Phoenix Energy) is the seventeenth largest operator in the North Dakota (and Montana) Bakken:
- launched in late 2023;
- by mid-2024, already ranked as the 17th most prolific operator in the Williston Basin
- 25,000 boepd; 18,500 bopd
- focusing on:
- ultra-fast drilling;
- set records in 2H2024 by drilling three-mile Bakken laterals in under 6.5 days, breaking the basin's historical pace
- Phoenix Capital Group rebranded as Phoenix Energy reflecting its shift from merely a mineral acquirer (like NOG?) to a vertically integrated energy firm engaged in production, minerals, and non-operated interests across major US basins.
