Does anyone have any information on activity in the Kinder Morgan - XTO/Exxon Yates Field Unit in Pecos County, Texas?
Enverus/MineralIQ has recently listed 11 new permits to “recomplete” existing wells. A sample API number is: 4237135446. An oil well recomplete permit allows an operator to re-enter or re-open a previously abandoned well. It involves reworking the well to access a different reservoir or a different portion of the existing reservoir. Based on the new permits, I’m wondering if Kinder Morgan is actively recompleting these wells.
That is a huge field. “Any activity” is too broad a question. You can watch the progress of the wells on MinIQ/Energy Link as they progress. Use the Nearby Activity tab (the Bold One closer to the top) on the Portfolio option. They will be posted on the Texas Railroad Commission site as they finish. They will progress from New Permit Activity to New Rig Activity to New Well Completion Activity to New Producing Activity. Can take many months.
In Enverus/MineralIQ, in the New Permit Activity summary section, for the sample API 4237135446 listed in my post, if I click on the API number displayed, it lists very old well information:
YATES FIELD UNIT 214ZA1
New Drill Approved: 3-25-1985
Well Spudded: 6-6-1985
Completion Reported: 6-27-1985
If I click on the arrow “>”, view permit detail for this API, the information displayed is:
New Permit Activity
Date: 7-8-2024
Well Name: Yates Field Unit
API: 4237135446
Well Operator: Kinder Morgan
Permit Type: Recomplete
Drill Type: H
Approved Date: 7-8-2024
My understanding from reviewing this information is that these new permits are for recompleting old vertical wells. The new permit detail lists the drill type as H, horizontal. I am also wondering if they are fracking, or re-fracking these old wells instead of new drills. Exxon is heavily into new fracking technology. I know that MineralIQ lists new rig drill activity, but I wasn’t sure if that applied to fracking, re-fracking activity.
Not exactly the story for that well. The original well was drilled in in about 1942 vertical to 1540’. Last production was in Oct 1998. Then a directional sidetrack was permitted to the east in 2016. I see another sidetrack to the west, looks like both went into the San Andres at about 1560’.
The track of the new sidetrack appears to be to the SE and is also in the San Andres. I do not know their completions techniques here. This may be too shallow to need a frac. Someone local may be able to comment. The current boreholes are located just to the north of the bend of the red road.
I have an interest in Pecos County Section 26, Blk 178.
I am in the process of receiving an offer to sell for the first time in a long time, and as usual am wondering if they know something that I don’t.
I haven’t received any revenue from it in ten years, and I don’t see any new permits nearby.
Do you think it is close enough to the Yates Field to warrant new activity?
Joy. I’m trying to find out what’s going on with the Yates Field Unit too. I inherited 38 APIs in the Yates Field Unit and usually receive a small royalty payment from XTO quarterly. The following permits were issued last year:
I sent an email to the operator Kinder Morgan and asked them about activity in the unit, but they did not respond. According to MineraliQ, there are no rigs in the area.
Who sent you the offer to purchase? It would be interesting to know.
Yes, I see the huge cluster of wells in Blk 194! I guess mine is on the outskirts of that field!!
DavidR, are your wells in Blk 194?
I was recently contacted by Vanguard Partners (?) about Pecos County, and when I called them back about their offer, they now want to make me an offer on my Garza County property instead!
I have never dealt with them before and don’t know anything about them.
Be aware that offers to buy frequently come before drilling, so find out as much as you can before deciding. You can ask for more, sell all, sell none or sell part. Horizontal wells frequently make more volume than older conventional wells, so that can be a factor.
I made a request to XTO to send me a list of API numbers where I have interest in Pecos County. The following well/API numbers were sent to me on 3-27-2025 by XTO for APIs in the Yates Field Unit:
I entered the top 23 APIs into MineralIQ. I couldn’t match the truncated bottom 15 APIs so I wasn’t able to enter them in MineralIQ. This is a map view of the 23 wells I was able to enter, and the new Kinder Morgan permits I listed in the above post for this topic. The permit types are listed as “Recomplete” or “New Drill.” As I mentioned, I am trying to determine if I have interest in this new permit activity. I sent an email to Kinder Morgan and asked about the activity in the area, but they did not respond.
Attached map here similar to yours but from ENVERUS - all new permits in the past 24 months. Almost all of these permits are tied to taking original wellbores and drilling new horizontals / laterals that are designed to access unproduced oil reserves between the historical vertical wells.
The nature of this reservoir leads to porosity and perm “pods” and a lack of connectivity across the field - thereby leading to untapped oil reserves.
My interest in Pecos County is in Section 26, Blk 178. It appears to be just on the outskirts of the Yates Field.
Do you think it is close enough to eventually benefit from that reservoir?
Thanks, Joy
Yates Field vs Section 26.pdf (290.8 KB)
Joy, please see attached PDF slide (ENVERUS source). The large mass of green dots / oil wells is Yates Field. The Red box is Section 26 / Block 178. The mid point of this section is about 3.5 miles from the closest point in Yates Field. I don’t see this Section being impacted by the Yates Field reservoir / trap. Note the two well spots in Section 26 / both have drilled through the equivalent Yates Field reservoir interval.
My interests in Garza are in Block D. I have had many offers over the years and don’t intend to sell.
I think the latest “offer” is from Vanguard Partners LLC but I don’t know anything about them.
