Quick answer — Who are the largest operators in the Permian Basin?
The Permian Basin of West Texas and southeast New Mexico is the most prolific oil-producing region in the United States, spanning the Midland and Delaware sub-basins and the Central Basin Platform.
The Permian Basin has approximately 474,551 wells operated by 11,000 companies. Below are the largest operators by well count. Data as of 2026-11-03.
| # | Operator | Wells | Have produced |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oxy | 26,079 | 21,686 |
| 2 | Hilcorp Energy Company | 20,141 | 18,719 |
| 3 | Pioneer Natural Resources | 18,313 | 15,969 |
| 4 | Diamondback Energy | 13,552 | 12,324 |
| 5 | EOG Resources | 10,250 | 6,059 |
| 6 | Apache | 8,971 | 7,269 |
| 7 | COG Operating | 8,194 | 6,180 |
| 8 | Scout Energy Management | 7,977 | 7,434 |
| 9 | Crescent Energy Operating, LLC | 7,150 | 6,877 |
| 10 | XTO Energy | 6,882 | 4,982 |
| 11 | Bcemach Iii LLC | 6,420 | 5,976 |
| 12 | Upp Operating LLC | 6,302 | 6,248 |
| 13 | Kinder Morgan Production | 6,034 | 4,837 |
| 14 | Chevron | 5,489 | 3,964 |
| 15 | Devon Energy Production Company | 5,228 | 2,512 |
| 16 | Permian Resources Operating LLC | 5,033 | 3,899 |
| 17 | Mewbourne Oil Company | 4,072 | 2,811 |
| 18 | Blackbeard Operating | 4,017 | 3,594 |
| 19 | Two P Partners LLC | 3,889 | 3,187 |
| 20 | Formentera Operations LLC | 3,758 | 3,665 |
| 21 | Ovintiv USA Inc. | 3,628 | 3,376 |
| 22 | Anadarko Petroleum | 3,167 | 2,022 |
| 23 | Coterra Energy Inc. | 3,157 | 2,045 |
| 24 | Burk Royalty | 3,121 | 2,984 |
| 25 | Citation Oil & Gas | 2,919 | 2,604 |
The largest operators in the Permian Basin by well count in this snapshot are Oxy (26,079 wells), Hilcorp Energy Company (20,141 wells), Pioneer Natural Resources (18,313 wells), Diamondback Energy (13,552 wells), EOG Resources (10,250 wells). The snapshot includes 11,000 operators and is dated 2026-11-03.
No. “Have produced” counts wells with a recorded first-production date. It does not confirm current production or current royalty payments. The “Wells” column counts well records associated with each operator in this basin snapshot.
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Well counts come from Buckhead Energy analysis of public oil and gas data (data as of 2026-11-03); reflect wells where each company is the current operator of record in the Permian Basin. Informational only.
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