Continental Resources adds Midland basin acreage through FireBird Energy II deal
Continental Resources, Oklahoma City, Okla., is expanding its Permian basin footprint through an agreement to acquire FireBird Energy II LLC, Fort Worth, Tex., a portfolio company of Quantum Capital Group. Financial details were not disclosed.
Under the agreement, Continental will acquire FireBird, which holds about 54,000 net acres in the Midland basin, adding oil-weighted production and development inventory adjacent to its existing operations and creating opportunities for efficiencies and longer-term development planning, Continental said in a release Aug. 20.
The deal includes about 147,000 net resource acres (95% operated) across more than six stacked-pay reservoirs, which are currently producing about 32,000 boe/d (69% oil), along with 307 gross operated development locations.
“The Permian is integral to Continental's portfolio, and we are extremely encouraged by the results we are seeing from our teams and assets in the basin,” said Doug Lawler, president and chief executive officer of Continental Resources, who said the assets to be acquired are “highly complementary” to the company’s existing footprint “and provide a deep inventory of high-quality, oil-weighted opportunities across multiple stacked-pay reservoirs.”
Continental said it has been expanding its position in the Permian basin over the past 14 months and that, including the FireBird acquisition, it has grown its acreage position in the play by more than 40%. The company, which was taken private by founder Harold Hamm and the Hamm family in 2022, did not provide details regarding acreage additions during the period.
FireBird II was formed in 2023 following the sale of FireBird Energy LLC (FireBird I) to Diamondback Energy Inc. for about $1.6 billion in November of 2022.
Continental Resources’ acquisition of FireBird Energy II is expected to close in September 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.
Private operators remain active in upstream M&A
Continental Resources' acquisition of FireBird Energy II comes amid ongoing consolidation across the US upstream sector. While overall deal values have fluctuated with commodity prices, Enverus and Rystad Energy report continued activity among privately held and private-equity-backed operators, particularly in core shale basins. Listen to a recent ICYMI episode of the Oil & Gas Journal ReEnterprised podcast for a look at the trends driving upstream M&A.
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Mikaila Adams has 20 years of experience as an editor, most of which has been centered on the oil and gas industry. She enjoyed 12 years focused on the business/finance side of the industry as an editor for Oil & Gas Journal's sister publication, Oil & Gas Financial Journal (OGFJ). After OGFJ ceased publication in 2017, she joined Oil & Gas Journal and was later named Managing Editor - News. Her role has expanded into content strategy. She holds a degree from Texas Tech University.