Chord Energy Corporation traces its modern form to the 2022 merger of Oasis Petroleum and Whiting Petroleum, a deal that repositioned the combined entity under a new name and structure. The legacy of Oasis, founded in 2007 with an initial focus on North Dakota’s Williston Basin, provides a foundation of technical know-how, regional asset depth, and operational history. After reorganization through bankruptcy in 2020, Oasis reemerged and ultimately joined Whiting to form Chord, consolidating expertise and scale in unconventional oil and gas.
At its core, Chord Energy is an independent explorer and producer of hydrocarbons—crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. Its operations are heavily concentrated in the Williston Basin, particularly in North Dakota and Montana, where it maintains a large acreage position and operates in formations such as the Bakken and Three Forks. The company acquires, develops, and produces these assets and sells the output to refiners, marketers, and other purchasers able to access pipeline and rail networks.
In the competitive landscape of U.S. tight oil producers, Chord positions itself through scale in the Williston region and technical depth. The 2024 acquisition of Enerplus (a Canadian-origin producer with U.S. acreage) further enhanced its footprint and potential synergies, aiming to strengthen reserve depth, production scale, and cost efficiencies. Through consolidation, Chord aims to derive operational leverage and maintain flexibility in capital deployment across its core basin.
Chord’s distinctive identity will rest on advancing efficient drilling and development execution in its concentrated basin position, optimizing returns on new wells, and leveraging its merged scale to manage costs and consolidate infrastructure. The depth of its inventory and technical capability in the Bakken/Three Forks gives it a clearer runway for long-term development. Its trajectory will likely be shaped by how well it integrates acquisitions, maintains capital discipline, and adapts to commodity cycles—while preserving its core focus on conventional oil and gas production.