The competition for upstream assets in the best parts of the still-growing Permian is fierce and the prices being paid reflect that. It’s a different story in the Anadarko, where oil and gas production has been flat for several years and some larger E&Ps have been heading for the exits. But there’s been a lot of big-money M&A in the Anadarko lately, mostly by companies buying up steady-as-she-goes production assets at reasonable prices and looking for upside. In today’s RBN blog, we continue our look at the often-overlooked Anadarko and the slew of acquisitions happening there.
As we said in Part 1, the 50,000-square-mile Anadarko Basin (see Figure 1 below) in western Oklahoma, western Kansas and the Texas Panhandle has been among the, um, less exciting oil and gas plays in recent years, with relatively flat production and only modest prospects for a rebound to its late-2010s glory days. Still, a lot has been going on below the surface on the acquisitions front and M&A activity has really been picking up in 2025 and the first few months of 2026.
We noted that some of the recent activity has been driven in part by a handful of larger, publicly held producers selling their positions in the basin to focus on other production areas and, in the process, reduce their debt. The buying side, in turn, has been dominated by what we refer to as “serial acquirers” — a mix of private and public E&Ps that have been gobbling up one set of Anadarko production assets after another. Generally speaking, the buyers like the fact that Anadarko is a reliable, relatively low-cost producer; that the infrastructure to process and pipe away crude oil, natural gas, and NGLs is already in place; and that the acquisition prices are reasonable.
Figure 1. The Anadarko and Ardmore Basins. Source: RBN
Strategic Petroleum Reserve Records Largest Draw in History
The EIA’s latest Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR) released this morning highlights the growing strain the Iran conflict is placing on global oil balances.
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About the song
“Take Me Back to Oklahoma” was written by Henson Cargill and appears as the first song on his 1988 studio album, All American Cowboy. The song is a reflection on home, returning to one’s roots, and a nostalgia for living in Oklahoma. Personnel on the record were: Henson Cargill (vocals, guitar) and uncredited musicians (other instrumentation).
All American Boy is the eighth studio album from Henson Cargill. It features newly recorded versions of previously released material, along with a few new songs penned by Cargill. It was released from the independent Oklahoma City label, Amethyst Records, in 1988. It credits 25 players who participated in the record. It was offered for sale by mail-order from Cargill at the time.
Henson Cargill was an American country music singer and songwriter from Oklahoma City known mainly for his #1 country music hit single of “Skip a Rope,” written by Jack Moran and Glenn Douglas Tubb, and released in November 1967. After trying his hand at ranching and being a deputy sheriff in Oklahoma, Cargill started singing country music at bars around the OKC area in the mid-1960s. He joined The Kimberlys band and moved to Nashville, where he was signed by Fred Foster to a record deal at Monument Records in 1967. He released eight studio albums and 23 singles. In 1981, he gave up touring to open a nightclub in OKC called Henson’s. He retired from the entertainment business in 1988. Henson died in Oklahoma City in March 2007 at 66.
"About the Song" -- written by Mickey McMahan , RBN Director of Musicology
