Reese Energy Consulting today has curated a couple of news nuggets worthy of mention to put an exclamation point on your Thursday. We start with the announced retirement of EOG Resources President Billy Helms, who will depart his position May 31 after only three years, cutting his physical tether to the company that’s defined 40-year career.

Serving in numerous positions over his tenure, Helms survived the fall of Enron and the birth of EOG, which right away began swapping properties and accumulating assets both domestic and international. Riding out the cyclical booms and busts to come post-1999, he rose through the ranks to witness EOG become one of the nation’s largest independent oil and gas operators, holding a sweeping court across eight major U.S. producing basins and Trinidad & Tobago.

The company also became a Permian giant, making it fodder of media reports last fall that finger pointed EOG as a prized acquisition target amid the consolidation frenzy. Rumors of any merger have yet to manifest, and no suggestion of who might succeed Helms. But he’s sure to leave behind his own 40-year fingerprint. EOG in February announced a 2024 Permian CAPEX of $4.2 billion.

Speaking of Permian prints, Okla City-based Riley Exploration Permian has launched an IPO to further pump its pure-play Permian muscle. The company, which operates in the Northwest Shelf in Texas and N.M., holds 44,000 net acres with 19.9 MBOED (71% crude oil). With a pending acquisition underway from an undisclosed seller, Riley will add another 8,600 net acres in the Delaware and double its current footprint.