ConocoPhillips flies to Midland the week of its Permian Basin capital push

ConocoPhillips flew from its Houston headquarters at George Bush Intercontinental Airport to Midland International Air and Space Port on Tuesday, a 77-minute hop that touched down just after 1:00 p.m. Central time. The operator's Embraer ERJ-145XR, tail N284CP, crossed the Permian Basin at 36,000 feet, a route familiar to the company's crew shuttle fleet.

The same week the flight lands in Midland, ConocoPhillips is allocating more capital to its Permian Basin assets for 2026, as reported by Permian Basin Oil and Gas Magazine last month. The company's CFO, Andrew O'Brien, said the increased spending will focus on operated and non-operated assets in the Delaware Basin to maintain output levels, not ramp them up. First-quarter Lower 48 production hit 1.453 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, with the Delaware Basin contributing 698,000 boed — nearly half of the total.

The trip follows recent flights that traced a similar pattern: the aircraft had moved from Midland-area terminals to Houston in the days prior, consistent with routine executive shuttles between corporate headquarters and the field. For ConocoPhillips, the destination is the wellhead.