{"id":77358,"date":"2026-03-17T09:33:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T14:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drillingcontractor.org\/?p=77358"},"modified":"2026-03-17T09:33:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T14:33:00","slug":"empire-petroleum-expands-texas-workover-program-targets-up-to-30-wells-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drillingcontractor.org\/empire-petroleum-expands-texas-workover-program-targets-up-to-30-wells-in-2026-77358","title":{"rendered":"Empire Petroleum expands Texas workover program, targets up to 30 wells in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Empire Petroleum expanded its Texas gas development program, increasing its 2026 plan to 12&ndash;30 wells as it advances a multi-phase effort focused on well reactivations, recompletions and future drilling.<\/p>\n<p>The company initiated a field-wide program in Q4 2025 to reactivate and work over existing wells, with operations already underway on 10 wells aimed at restoring baseline production and improving field deliverability. Early-stage wells have begun flowing during cleanup, indicating an initial production response.<\/p>\n<p>The broader development plan includes targeted recompletions and well-deepening activities across multiple formations, including the Glen Rose, Rodessa, James Lime, Travis Peak and Haynesville-Bossier intervals, to bring additional pay zones online.<\/p>\n<p>Empire is also progressing deeper gas evaluations, including a planned cleanout to depths of 17,000&ndash;21,000 ft to assess further potential in the Cotton Valley-Bossier and Western Haynesville zones.<\/p>\n<p>To support the ramp-up, the company is executing infrastructure and facility upgrades, including flowline construction, pad development and tie-in preparation, alongside ongoing workover and optimization activity with one active rig in the field.<\/p>\n<p>Empire plans to introduce a dedicated drilling rig in Q2 2026 to deepen wells from approximately 3,500 ft to 7,000 ft, marking the transition from reactivation work into a broader drilling phase.<\/p>\n<p>In parallel, the company continues to optimize artificial lift systems, enhance water quality management and upgrade thermal recovery infrastructure to improve operating reliability and production consistency across its asset base.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Empire Petroleum expanded its Texas gas development program, increasing its 2026 plan to 12&ndash;30 wells as it advances a multi-phase effort focused on well reactivations, recompletions and future drilling. The company initiated a field-wide program in Q4 2025 to reactivate and work over existing wells, with operations already underway on 10 wells aimed at restoring &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":62226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,54],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-land"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Empire Petroleum expands Texas workover program, targets up to 30 wells in 2026 - Drilling Contractor<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/drillingcontractor.org\/empire-petroleum-expands-texas-workover-program-targets-up-to-30-wells-in-2026-77358\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Empire Petroleum expands Texas workover program, targets up to 30 wells in 2026 - Drilling Contractor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Empire Petroleum expanded its Texas gas development program, increasing its 2026 plan to 12&ndash;30 wells as it advances a multi-phase effort focused on well reactivations, recompletions and future drilling. 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