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Chord Energy invests in MaverickX to boost bakken oil recovery. May 21, 2026 02:37 PM CDT Williston Basin oil producer Chord Energy is evaluating an enzyme-based chemistry to help boost recovery, banking on technology from biotech startup MaverickX. Staying current is easy with newsletters delivered straight to your inbox.

MaverickX has closed a strategic funding round with Chord Energy, the largest exploration and production company in the Bakken, alongside additional investment from existing backer Olive Tree Capital. The funding amount was not disclosed. The Austin-based startup has developed PetroX Boost, a production enhancement technology designed to increase oil recovery from shale wells by breaking down clay materials that restrict hydrocarbon flow. Early results from core samples show recovery factor increases of up to 20%. As part of the investment, Chord Energy has committed to multiple early field deployments of PetroX Boost across its operated assets. The collaboration aims to address low recovery rates in shale formations, where significant hydrocarbon volumes remain trapped underground despite modern extraction techniques. The funding will support continued development and commercialisation of the technology.

Continental Resources, BPX Energy, Chord Energy and Ranger Energy Services team with Enverus to build field safety platform on Enverus ONE(TM). * May 5, 2026 PR Newswire AUSTIN, Texas, May 5, 2026 Industry consortium is developing LifeSaver to help energy field crews access timely, job-specific safety guidance at the point of work, with pilots planned during 2026 AUSTIN, Texas, May 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ - Continental Resources, BPX Energy, Chord Energy and Ranger Energy Services, together with Enverus, today introduced LifeSaver, a field safety initiative being developed on the Enverus ONE(TM) platform. Field pilots are planned during 2026, beginning in the Bakken. LifeSaver is being designed to help energy field crews access timely, job-specific safety guidance before and during work. The platform will bring together company safety procedures, job context, site conditions and relevant operational learnings through a field-ready, mobile-first experience for workers and supervisors. The initiative reflects a shared commitment among the participating companies to apply technology to one of the industry's most important priorities: helping people work more safely in dynamic field environments. "This initiative brings together two of Continental's core values - an unwavering commitment to safety and a drive to innovate in everything we do," said Aaron Chang, COO, Continental Resources. "We helped convene this consortium because we believe the next meaningful improvement in field safety will come from putting better, contextual guidance directly in the hands of the people doing the work. Safety has always been at the heart of our operations, and LifeSaver represents an exciting step forward in how we apply advanced technology to help protect our people in real time. We're proud to stand alongside our industry partners in bringing that vision to the field." Built for the realities of field work Energy field operations are complex, dynamic and constantly changing. Crews work across shifting job scopes, equipment configurations, contractor teams, weather conditions and site-specific risks. Traditional safety systems remain essential, but many were designed primarily around planning, documentation and compliance workflows before or after the job. LifeSaver is being developed to support the work as it happens. The platform is being designed to help crews access relevant safety guidance without requiring them to leave the worksite, sort through documentation or rely solely on memory in high-pressure moments. It will support company safety programs by making procedures, risk prompts and field-relevant information easier to access at the point of work. LifeSaver is being engineered for the conditions of field work, including intermittent connectivity, high-noise environments and mobile-first access for crews in the field. It will also help supervisors and safety leaders maintain better visibility into field conditions, supporting stronger communication between frontline teams and enterprise safety organizations. "Our crews have always carried strong safety practices into the field. What they haven't had is technology that can adapt with them there," said Jordie Harrell, Chief Technology Officer, BPX Energy. "LifeSaver is being designed to put job-specific guidance into workers' hands in the moments that matter, on the devices they already use. That kind of technology, built around how field work actually happens, is how we extend the safety culture our people already live every day." How LifeSaver will work LifeSaver will run on the Enverus ONE platform and is being designed for the operational realities of energy field work. The platform will connect company-specific safety content, job-specific contexts, operating inputs and relevant historical learnings through an experience built for field crews and supervisors. For field teams, LifeSaver is expected to support: * Voice-first access to safety guidance designed for use in field conditions. * Job-specific risk prompts informed by task type, crew configuration, site context and work sequence. * Relevant operating inputs such as weather, nearby activity, equipment context and contractor presence, where available. * Company-specific safety procedures delivered in a format that is easier for crews to access during work. * Supervisor visibility that helps connect field conditions, work activity and safety leadership in near real time. * Shared safety learnings developed through consortium-led data controls and designed to improve safety intelligence across participating organizations. LifeSaver is not intended to replace company safety programs, supervisor judgment or established operating procedures. It is being designed to strengthen them by making relevant safety guidance more accessible, specific to the work and timely. "The hardest part of safety is that risk often emerges during work that looks routine," said Colin Westmoreland, Chief Innovation Officer, Enverus. "The companies behind LifeSaver understand that reality, and they are choosing to address it together. We are proud to be developing the platform that will bring field context, safety intelligence and operational workflows together in a way that supports the people doing the work." A partner-led safety initiative The companies behind LifeSaver are competitors, and their decision to build together carries significance well beyond their own operations. They have come together around a shared belief: the next meaningful improvement in field safety will require more than better forms or better documentation. It will require timely support that reflects the job, the site and the conditions around the work, built on strong governance, trusted data controls and deep operational expertise. The consortium model will allow participating companies to collaborate on a common safety challenge while maintaining appropriate control over their own safety content, procedures and data. Shared learnings will be governed by content controls designed to protect company-specific information while helping the industry improve over time. "Across each of our companies, the health and safety of our people is a core value," said Danny Brown, CEO, Chord Energy. "LifeSaver represents a meaningful step forward in how our industry can use technology to support field teams. We are proud to help build and deploy a platform focused on protecting people where the work happens." Pilots planned during 2026, starting in the Bakken Field pilots are planned during 2026, beginning in well service and workover operations in the Bakken, one of North America's most active and operationally demanding producing regions. The Bakken was selected because field operations in the region often involve high activity levels, variable conditions and complex multi-contractor coordination. "Well service and workover crews face some of the most dynamic risk conditions in the field," said Stuart Bodden, CEO, Ranger Energy Services. "A platform that can keep pace with those conditions and put practical safety guidance directly in the hands of our people is exactly the kind of technology our industry needs." From there, LifeSaver is expected to expand into additional basins across North America and, over time, into adjacent high-consequence operating environments such as power plant maintenance, wind and solar construction, substation operations, water infrastructure and other industrial field settings. A portion of future LifeSaver proceeds is expected to support a consortium-established non-profit dedicated to advancing worker safety across the energy industry through research, training and community investment. About LifeSaver LifeSaver is an AI-enabled field safety initiative being developed on the Enverus ONE platform and designed for energy and industrial operations. By combining voice-first workflows, mobile field tools and job-specific safety guidance, LifeSaver is being designed to help crews strengthen pre-job planning, access relevant safety information and make more informed decisions before and during work. Field pilots are planned during 2026 in oil and gas operations, with potential to expand into adjacent industrial sectors over time. SOURCE Enverus