ConocoPhillips shuttle lands in Midland as Permian activity accelerates

ConocoPhillips flew from Carlsbad, New Mexico, to Midland, Texas, on the evening of May 13, 2026, a 22-minute hop in its Embraer ERJ-145XR (N284CP). The aircraft, part of the company's employee shuttle fleet, had spent the day moving between Houston and the Permian Basin, according to ADS-B data.

The trip lands in Midland the same week ConocoPhillips is executing on a capital program that, per its first-quarter earnings release on April 30, includes "incremental Permian activity" as part of a $12 to $12.5 billion full-year budget. The company's Lower 48 production reached 1.45 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first quarter, led by the Delaware Basin, Eagle Ford and Bakken, as reported by World Oil. The shuttle network — which the company launched in early May with this same ERJ-145XR, per Hamden Aviation — connects Houston to Midland, Carlsbad, Bartlesville and Williston, reflecting an operational focus on moving personnel efficiently across its core U.S. assets.

The flight is part of a pattern: over the previous two days, N284CP shuttled between Houston and Midland multiple times, with a side trip to Bartlesville, Oklahoma. For ConocoPhillips, a company navigating Middle East disruption and advancing its Willow project in Alaska, the Permian remains the steady engine — and the shuttle schedule is a quiet signal of where the work is happening.