Our Operations

A New Approach to An Essential Industry

About Our Operations

Zavanna’s field office is located in the Williston Basin of North Dakota. Our focus is in exploration and production, while maintaining partnerships with companies in all sectors of the industry. Zavanna has consistently led the Williston Basin in terms of advanced well performance, completions design, and artificial lift enhancements.

Being a small team allows Zavanna to make changes quickly and to implement new technologies we believe in, while also putting new, updated designs to old ideas. Our long-term operating model enables us to make decisions based on what is best for the well and our stakeholders. We are driven by doing what’s right over the long haul.

Quick Facts

150+ Years

Our leadership team has more than 150 years of combined experience in the energy industry.

Top 10

Zavanna is one of the 10 largest private oil and gas producers in North Dakota.

70,000

We operate nearly 70,000 acres in the Williston Basin.

50%

Since 2013, we’ve experienced a 50% reduction in days from spud to total depth.

Well Performance

From a well performance perspective, Zavanna consistently outperforms its peers in the basin. While this can be attributed to several factors, our continually evolving completion design changes are a major focus point for the completion team, and play a large role in our unmatched well results.

Artificial Lift Advancements

During the early stages of Zavanna’s Bakken development, we realized that the traditional rod-pump artificial lift method was not an optimal way of producing our wells. Through our partnership with Flatiron’s Midstream, we helped support 55 miles of pipeline infrastructure, which allowed us to use our existing natural gas to lift the well. Our gas is gathered, sent to the 1804 LTD plant for processing, and returned via a high-pressure line for gas lifting the well.

Further developments in our artificial lift program have led to the installation and operation of onsite gas lift compressors and jet pumps throughout the field. These methods provide the same benefit of elevated production rates compared to traditional artificial lift techniques. They also reduce operating expenses and improve utilization of processing capacity at the 1804 LTD plant.

Vertical Integration

During 2012, Zavanna partnered with Flatiron’s Midstream and formed 1804 LTD, LLC (1804). Zavanna recognized that to be able to effectuate the desired drilling program during that era, we would need help in gathering and processing our natural gas.

Like any prudent operator, we had the desire to maximize our economics by selling or reusing the natural gas that we produce, and having a long-term vision, this felt like the best approach to help us control our destiny. We found a team with over a century of combined experience to help us put our vision into place, and helped both financially and operationally place a 45 MMCFD refrigeration gas plant into the heart of Williams County, North Dakota.

Today, 1804 processes around 60 MMCFD of natural gas and has expanded beyond Zavanna to other third-party producers.

Zavanna has also partnered with ARM Energy, an innovative and leading marketing group in the oil and gas industry. ARM has done an exceptional job helping both Zavanna and 1804 competitively market a variety of products within the Williston Basin.

Through our deep knowledge of the upstream oil and gas industry, our strong partnerships within the midstream world, and assistance from a world-class marketing group, Zavanna has a wealth of resources to tap into as we expand beyond our current horizons. We confidently manage all aspects of the energy life cycle to produce a better future for the communities we serve.

oil tanks in oil field

Our Partners

Zavanna has forged strategic alliances, joint ventures, and joint exploration agreements with numerous partners across the industry. Below are just some of the joint venture partners Zavanna and our predecessor companies have worked with since 1981:

  • Alpenglow Energy, LLC
  • Amerada Hess
  • American Oil and Gas Corporation
  • Aminoil
  • Amoco Production Company
  • Anadarko Petroleum
  • Andex Resources, LLC
  • Ansbro Petroleum Company
  • Atlantic Oil Corporation
  • Atlantic Richfield
  • Badger Oil Corp.
  • Ballard Petroleum LLC
  • Bass Enterprises
  • Bear Stearns
  • Berco Resources, Inc.
  • Bill Barrett Corporation
  • Blackstone- GSO
  • BP Amoco
  • Bryant Chase Energy Corporation
  • BTA Oil Producers
  • BWAB Incorporated
  • Celeron Oil & Gas
  • Chesapeake
  • Columbia Gas Development
  • Conley P. Smith Operating Company
  • Conoco
  • Continental Resources, Inc.
  • Coseka Resources
  • Donald C. Slawson
  • Earthstone Energy
  • Elm Ridge Resources
  • Enserch Exploration Company
  • Exxon
  • Flatirons Resources LLC
  • General American Oil
  • General Atlantic
  • Getty Oil Company
  • Gulf Oil
  • Hallwood Petroleum, Inc.
  • Harper Oil Company
  • Home Petroleum, Inc.
  • J. Hiram Moore, Ltd.
  • John L. Cox
  • Joshi Technologies International, Inc.
  • Klabzuba Oil & Gas
  • L. B. Industries
  • Liberty Oil Field Services, LLC
  • Liberty Resources, LLC
  • Maersk
  • Mallon Resources Corp.
  • Marshall & Winston
  • McFarland Energy
  • McMurry Energy Company
  • Mirada Energy, LLC
  • Mobil Corporation
  • Moncrief Oil
  • Nance Petroleum
  • Newfield Exploration
  • Norfolk Holdings, Inc.
  • Orrion Energy Partners
  • P & M Petroleum Management
  • Palace Exploration
  • Parker & Parsley Petroleum
  • Paul Rankin, Inc.
  • Petro Hunt
  • Petro Real, Inc.
  • Petroleum, Inc.
  • Petro-Lewis Corporation
  • Phillips Petroleum
  • Plains Resources
  • Pointer Exploration
  • Primary Fuels
  • Pure Resources
  • Pyr Energy
  • R. N. Enfield
  • Ryan Exploration
  • Samson Oil and Gas
  • Samson Resources
  • Santa Fe Energy
  • Schlumberger
  • Shell
  • SM Energy
  • Southwestern Energy
  • Statoil Oil & Gas LP
  • Sun Exploration
  • Tenneco Oil Company
  • Terra Resources
  • Texaco
  • The Superior Oil Company
  • Thermal Exploration
  • Titan Resources, Inc.
  • Trans Texas
  • Tricentrol Oil Ltd.
  • U. S. Energy
  • Union Texas
  • Ward Petroleum
  • Washington Energy
  • Westport Resources
  • Whiting Petroleum
  • Wintershall Energy Company
  • Wyoming Resources
  • Zenergy, Inc.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What Makes Zavanna’s Operations Unique?

Zavanna is one of the 10 largest private producers in the Williston Basin, but we’re also much more than that. Here are a few ways in which we distinguish ourselves from other companies in the space:

  • 100% privately owned and operated for more than 27 years
  • Managed by a team with over 150 years of combined experience
  • Investments across the energy spectrum, including E&P, Midstream, Oilfield Services, and Marketing
  • A proven commitment to exceeding best practices for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria

Why Choose a Smaller Company Like Zavanna?

At Zavanna, our team is small but nimble. Having only 50 or so employees allows us to think on our feet and change directions quickly. This makes it easy to gather our decision makers in the same room and move forward on new initiatives.

Zavanna has the connections and experience of a much larger company, while retaining the versatility of a boutique firm. When you work with us, you get the best of both worlds.

How Does Zavanna Demonstrate a Commitment to the Environment?

Zavanna is deeply committed to initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint. Over 90% of our production facilities are equipped with water-gathering infrastructure—allowing us to eliminate 189,000 trucking miles and 210 metric tons of CO2e in 2020.

We have also reduced our greenhouse gas emissions by 9% since 2020, and by 46% since 2019. Additionally, we own an optical gas imaging (OGI) camera that helps ensure our production facilities can operate without producing fugitive emissions.

How Does Zavanna Commit to the Health & Safety of Employees?

Our primary goal at Zavanna is to have employees return home from work in health and safely every day. By creating a culture that promotes workplace safety and investing in a strong HSE training program, we have created an environment where all team members can show up to work knowing their company is looking out for their best interests.

Zavanna employees have not been involved in an OSHA-recordable incident in over 12 months. In addition, we perform internal investigations for all incidents, reportable or otherwise, to ensure corrective measures are taken and findings are shared among operations staff to prevent recurrence.

How Does Zavanna Support Local Communities?

In addition to providing responsible energy solutions that benefit people throughout and beyond North Dakota, Zavanna supports numerous initiatives that enrich the lives of our neighbors and community members.

We proudly support local 4H and Special Olympics programs. We are also members and active supporters of NDPC events, which promote and enhance the discovery and development of oil and gas resources throughout the state.

How Does Zavanna Stay Accountable to Shareholders & Business Partners?

All employees at Zavanna are equity owners in the company. The unique structure of our business allows us to make decisions that are always aligned with the best interests of all stakeholders.

In addition, our Executive and Management team has a demonstrated history of taking salaries and cash bonuses well under the market rate for our industry. Since we also have an equity stake in the business, we depend just as much on the integrity of Zavanna’s work as any of our employees or investors.