Okla. City-based Riley Exploration is no stranger to the Texas Permian, but it is a newcomer into the N.M., side of the basin, which is soon to roll out the welcome mat with an oil and gas lease sale on public land this May. Reese Energy Consulting today is following the latest wave of activity in the Permian where producers on the Texas side are looking to either two-step West or further dig in their boot heels in the core of the Delaware.

Riley late last month snapped up 11,700 contiguous net acres in Eddy County, N.M., for $330 million. The deal with Pecos Oil & Gas included 100 drilling locations and 11.4 MBOED and adds to Riley’s current 11.5 MBOED in the Permian’s Northwest Shelf. Permian Resources Corporation (PRC) in late January picked up 4,000 leasehold acres, 3,300 royalty acres, and 1,100 BOED in Lea County for $98 million. This adds to PRC’s current 180,000 net leasehold acres and 40,000 net royalty acres in the Delaware sweet spot. The company recently reported 4Q oil production of 81.4 MBPD. The BLM New Mexico last held an oil and gas lease sale on public land in June 2022, which included six parcels covering more than a half-million acres. May’s auction will include 1,923 acres on eight parcels in Eddy County and 955 acres on nine parcels in Lea County.