Continental Resources Expands Permian Footprint
The privately held oil producer has agreed to acquire FireBird Energy II, adding roughly 54,000 net acres in the Midland Basin along with 32,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) of production
Continental Resources is getting substantially bigger in the Permian Basin. The privately held oil producer has agreed to acquire FireBird Energy II, adding roughly 54,000 net acres in the Midland Basin along with 32,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) of production, Continental said Thursday. About 69% of that is oil. The FireBird assets include approximately 147,000 net resource acres across more than six stacked-pay reservoirs and 307 gross operated development locations.
Continental will operate about 95% of the acquired acreage. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition caps an aggressive expansion in a basin that was once secondary to Continental’s better-known Bakken position.
Including FireBird, Continental says it has increased its Permian acreage by more than 40% over the past 14 months. “The Permian is integral to Continental’s portfolio,” CEO Doug Lawler said, citing the acquired inventory and its proximity to the company’s existing operations. Larger contiguous positions allow shale producers to drill longer laterals, consolidate infrastructure and plan development across a wider inventory rather than treating each acreage block as its own little kingdom. The deal is expected to close in September. FireBird is backed by Quantum Capital Group, which partnered with the company in 2023 to build a scaled Midland Basin position.
Continental, meanwhile, has been expanding well beyond its traditional U.S. shale strongholds. Earlier this year, the company agreed to acquire interests in four Vaca Muerta oil blocks from Argentina’s Pan American Energy, adding exposure to one of the few shale regions outside the United States capable of producing at meaningful scale.
Continental has also entered a joint venture targeting unconventional resources in Turkey’s Diyarbakir Basin. But the Permian remains considerably closer to home, and is considerably more developed. FireBird gives Continental another 32,000 boepd immediately, plus hundreds of operated drilling locations in the most prolific U.S. oil basin.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
