Gene Shepherd is packing a punch in the Permian’s southern Delaware hood, where drilling rigs and pumpjacks operated by neighbors like Diamondback Energy, Continental Resources, and XTO, mechanically hum their tunes in cadences that can either lullaby a producer to sleep or keep him mercilessly awake at night. Reese Energy Consulting today is following the latest from Shepherd, a longtime oilman and CEO of Austin-based VTX Energy, who founded his latest baby just two years ago. Suffice it to say, he’s not losing much sleep these days. At least in terms of production.

In partnership with Vitol, VTX last year got its motor running with two acquisitions that thrust Shepherd back into the southern Delaware. Time capsule: Shepherd in 2017 sold his Brigham Resources and southern Delaware assets to Diamondback for $2.6 billion. Diamondback at the time described the deal as “transformative”. Shepherd, on the other hand, was looking to kick up some more Delaware dust.  

A year after launch, VTX in 2023 returned to the southern Delaware, picking up 47,000 net acres and 500 BPD in two separate acquisitions. Prices weren’t disclosed. Applying its legacy knowledge and DUC techniques in the Delaware, Bakken, and Powder River, the company has completed 33 wells as of last April. These efficiencies, according to Shepherd, have brought those wells online sooner with reported production now to the tune of 42 MBPD. Sleep well, VTX.