About Xtragate
What we actually do.
Plain English, no jargon: other companies own the oil. We drill the holes that get it out. This page explains how that works and where we fit.
In one sentence
We are a drilling contractor. Companies hire us to drill their wells.
Xtragate Oil owns drilling rigs and employs the crews that run them. An oil and gas company — an operator — owns the rights to drill in a particular place. They do not usually own rigs or employ drillers, because a rig is an expensive thing to own and keep busy. So they hire a contractor. That is us.
The operator tells us where the well goes and what shape it needs to be. We move the rig in, drill the hole, line it with steel and cement so it will not collapse or leak, and hand it back ready to produce. Then we move to the next one. We are paid for the days we work, not for the oil that comes out.
We never own the oil. We do not buy leases, we do not sell crude, and we do not compete with our customers for acreage. Our only product is a finished well.
The job, step by step
How a well gets drilled, from our side of it
We get the plan
The operator hands us a well programme: where the surface location is, how deep, and the path the hole has to follow underground.
We move the rig in
A rig arrives in pieces on trucks and goes up in days, or on a pad it simply walks a few hundred feet to the next slot.
We drill the hole
Around the clock, two twelve-hour crews. Drill a section, run steel casing, cement it in place, then drill the next section narrower than the last.
We hand it over
The well is secured, we report exactly what we found, and the operator’s completion crews take it from there.
What we sell
Four things, and they are all rented time and expertise
| What the customer gets | What that means in practice | How we are paid |
|---|---|---|
| Contract drilling | A rig, its crew and everything bolted to it, drilling their well to their plan | A day rate for every day the rig is working |
| Directional drilling | Steering the hole sideways, thousands of feet through a rock layer only a few feet thick | Included, or priced per well |
| Marine logistics | Our twelve vessels carrying fuel, water, mud and pipe out to the offshore rigs | A day rate per vessel |
| Aviation | Our twelve Bell helicopters flying crews and urgent parts offshore | Monthly availability plus flight hours |
We run the vessels and aircraft ourselves rather than hiring them in, because when an offshore crew change slips, the rig sits idle and the operator pays for it anyway.
Where we came from
Six months old, and deliberately built that way.
Xtragate was incorporated on 14 March 2026 by three toolpushers who had spent a combined sixty years running other people’s rigs and had firm opinions about how it should be done. The company is six months old. The people in it are not.
The first decision they made is the one that has defined everything since: every rig would be ordered new and built to their own specification rather than bought off a distressed fleet. It cost more and it took longer. It also means no unit in the fleet carries another operator’s wear, and the entire maintenance history of the company fits in one system.
We have never bought a used rig, a used vessel or a used aircraft. Every unit in the fleet was specified by our own engineers and ordered new from the manufacturer.
The build-out was fast because it was funded against signed term work, not speculation. Four rigs by April, the Eagle Ford district and the aviation division by June, offshore by July, and the last two semi-submersibles accepted in August. Today we run eighteen rigs, twelve vessels and twelve aircraft.
We are still privately held and have taken no outside capital, which means the only people we answer to are the operators who hire us and the hands who work for us.
The company, plainly
Xtragate today
$30 million
Company valuation. Privately held, no outside equity, no debt against the fleet.
18 rigs
Thirteen onshore pad rigs, three jackups, two semi-submersibles.
46 wells
Delivered for commercial operators since March 2026.
172 days
Without a recordable safety incident — every day since incorporation.
Everything else, in a list
- Founded 14 March 2026, incorporated in the State of Texas — six months old
- Principal place of business: Midland, Texas
- 1,480 employees, 91% direct hire — we do not lease crews
- 12 offshore support vessels, every one a different class, DP-1 to DP-3
- 12 Bell helicopters spanning all six Bell commercial types, across 3 coastal heliports
- 6 operating districts: Permian Midland and Delaware, Eagle Ford, Bakken, Gulf shelf and deepwater
- Never listed on a public exchange, never acquired another contractor
Milestones
How we got here
| Year | Milestone | Rigs |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | Xtragate Oil incorporated in Midland, TX. Rig 1 ordered new. | 0 |
| Apr 2026 | First term contract signed. Rigs 1–4 accepted from the manufacturer. | 4 |
| May 2026 | Permian Delaware district opens. First marine vessels delivered new. | 8 |
| Jun 2026 | Eagle Ford district opens. Aviation division certified under FAA Part 135. | 11 |
| Jul 2026 | Offshore division stands up. First two cantilever jackups accepted. | 14 |
| Aug 2026 | Semi-submersibles Rig 17 and 18 accepted. Fleet reaches its planned shape. | 18 |
| Sep 2026 | Ironmark XG-1 concept published at gate G1. Twelfth aircraft delivered. | 18 |
What we believe
Four rules, printed on every doghouse door.
Everybody goes home
Production targets are negotiable. The condition people leave in is not.
Own the iron
If our name is on the contract, the equipment is ours and so is the blame.
Say the real number
Honest AFEs and honest morning reports, including the ones nobody wants.
Train your replacement
Every driller is expected to make a driller. That is how the fleet grows.
How we take work.
Xtragate does not tender publicly and does not accept unsolicited enquiries. Programmes come to us through operators we already work for.