Mewbourne Oil
9/10
Live NMOCD compulsory pooling docket June 23 — Mewbourne cases 25860/25862 set against WPX cases 26049-26052; contested pooling over overlapping Eddy/Lea acreage; private top-tier Delaware driller, ~75% of program in New MexicoNew Mexico Oil Conservation Division hearing docket — June 23, 2026 (Mewbourne 25860, 25862 v. WPX 26049-26052), emnrd.nm.gov/ocd/hearing-info | NMOCD Announcements and Notifications | Modrall Sperling — New Mexico Upstream Oil and Gas Regulation overview, Jan 12, 2026
Reason to reach out
Mewbourne was on the NMOCD docket June 23 with compulsory pooling cases (25860, 25862) set against WPX — a contested pooling posture over overlapping Eddy/Lea acreage. That is exactly the matter where the application, the working-interest ownership, and the supporting title all have to line up before the division issues an order. At Mewbourne's New Mexico concentration that work is continuous, and a contested docket raises the stakes on getting it right. (Source: NMOCD hearing docket, June 23, 2026)
LinkedIn DM — send to Brad Dunn
Brad — Mewbourne was on the NMOCD docket June 23, with compulsory pooling cases (25860 and 25862) heard against WPX. A contested pooling posture is where the application, the working-interest ownership behind it, and the title that supports it all have to line up before the division issues an order. At Mewbourne's New Mexico concentration — roughly 75% of the program in Eddy, Lea, Loving, and Reeves — that pooling and title work runs continuously, not in quarterly batches, and a contested docket raises the cost of getting any piece of it wrong. HELG handles NMOCD compulsory pooling and allocation well work directly, with the federal and state title that supports it, licensed in Texas and New Mexico and Board Certified in Oil, Gas, and Mineral Law. If outside bandwidth on the New Mexico pooling and title queue would help, worth a short conversation.
— Ben Holliday, HELG · 210.469.3187
Email subject
Mewbourne — contested NMOCD pooling docket June 23; continuous New Mexico pooling and title workload
Email body (swap [First Name] when sending)
Hi [First Name],
Mewbourne was on the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division hearing docket June 23, with compulsory pooling cases (25860 and 25862) heard against WPX cases — a contested posture where two operators are seeking competing pooling orders over overlapping acreage.
A contested docket is where the pieces have to line up: the pooling application itself, the working-interest ownership behind it, and the title that supports the application — because the other side is examining the same sections. At Mewbourne's New Mexico concentration, with roughly 75% of the program in Eddy, Lea, Loving, and Reeves Counties and more than 2,500 wells operated, that pooling and title work is a continuous requirement rather than a quarterly batch. More than 60% of Eddy County is federally owned, which puts a federal title workflow on top of the state work, and the broader New Mexico regulatory environment this period raises the cost of getting the filings wrong.
HELG handles NMOCD compulsory pooling and allocation well applications directly, with the federal and state title that supports them, in Lea and Eddy Counties, New Mexico, and Loving and Reeves Counties, Texas. Board Certified in Oil, Gas, and Mineral Law, licensed in Texas and New Mexico.
If it would be useful to discuss support for the New Mexico pooling and title queue, I am available this week.
Ben Holliday
Holliday Energy Law Group
210.469.3187
Subject + body combined
LinkedIn post (broader pattern — no operator name)
A contested compulsory pooling docket is one of the clearer tests of whether an operator's land and title work is built to keep pace with its drilling. New Mexico ran a docket on June 23 with competing pooling cases over overlapping Eddy and Lea County acreage. Here is what a posture like that actually requires. The pooling application has to be right. The working-interest ownership behind it has to be confirmed. And the title that supports the application has to hold up, because the other side is looking at the same sections. None of that batches quarterly. At a Delaware Basin program concentrated in New Mexico, compulsory pooling, allocation well applications, and the federal and state title underneath them run continuously — and more than 60% of Eddy County is federal, which puts a federal title workflow on top of the state work. When two operators are in front of the division over the same ground, the filing that is better supported tends to be the one that holds.
Contacts (4)
| Name | Stage | |
|---|---|---|
| Josh Anderson | janderson@mewbourne.com | Warm |
| Brad Dunn | bdunn@mewbourne.com | Cold |
| Corey Mitchell | cmitchell@mewbourne.com | Cold |
| Ariana Rodrigues | arodrigues@mewbourne.com | Cold |
