The game of Shuffleboard took on a whole new meaning between 2021 and ’22 as billion-dollar mergers by independents muscled up scale and drilling inventory amid soaring oil and gas prices. The five players included Pioneer, Devon, Diamondback, EQT, and Continental. Reese Energy Consulting today is reviewing the latest on the now much larger five whose pursuits are making generous hay.

Pioneer Natural Resources in 2021 picked up DoublePoint and Parsley in deals valued at $10.9 billion to become the Permian’s largest producer. Pioneer hauled in $12.8 billion in revenues during the first nine months of 2022 vs $7.7 billion in 2021. Now a pure-play Midland operator, Pioneer sold its Delaware position in 2021 to Continental for $3.25 billion. In its final quarterly earnings report last November, Continental announced $1 billion in revenues vs $369 million in the same period in 2021.

Diamondback in 2022 picked up three acquisitions—the most recent two in November—earning it the title for second-largest Midland producer. Devon’s acquisitions last year in the Eagle Ford and Bakken added 94 MBPD to total production of 614 MBPD in 3Q. EQT’s acquisitions of Alta Resources and Tug Hill in 2021-2022, respectively, reaffirmed its status as the nation’s largest gas producer and added 11 years of inventory in the Marcellus.