USEDC’s Plans for $1B in Capex, M&A on Track as Oil Prices Stumble

Editor's Note: A more in-depth version of Hart Energy’s conversation with Jordan Jayson will appear in the May issue of Oil & Gas Investor magazine.

Oil prices are declining and there are rumblings of a global trade war. At U.S. Energy Development Corp., CEO Jordan Jayson and his team are tuning out the noise and focusing on the basics.

“These global macro headlines and market volatility really don’t affect how we manage the company on a day-to-day basis,” Jayson said in an interview April 10 with Hart Energy. “We've been through it before. The movements in the markets and the movements in commodity prices are out of our control.”

Jayson said USEDC’s plan to deploy $1 billion in multiple projects in 2025 is on track. That’s up from about $800 million in 2024 and $600 million in 2023. USEDC is a diversified E&P operating firm with assets in multiple basins, with a focus on the Permian Basin.

“We're deploying those dollars through our own operated assets, through strategic joint ventures and through acquisitions,” he said. “It's generally a third, a third, a third.”

That’s happening in a chaotic investing environment. So far this month, President Trump announced a global tariff plan and then a 90-day pause on the tariffs for dozens of nations—except for China, which he raised duties on to 145%.

Markets, oil prices and consumers have responded accordingly. The S&P 500 is down about 6% in April and 10% year-to-date. Crude futures are trading at $60/bbl, down about 15% year-to-date. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey slid to its lowest level in almost three years.

Jayson, who joined USEDC in 2009 and became CEO in 2014, said he tells his team to act as if the price is much lower than $60.

“We have a saying where we need to always act as if it was $35 oil,” he said. “So we're very cost-conscious internally and making sure that we're managing the business as efficiently as possible to absorb these types of movements and noise.”

He said USEDC will see through the projects it’s started.

“How we produce those wells as they come online may vary,” he said. “We may choke them back a bit to save some reservoir pressure in hopes that prices could rebound.”

In the longer term, Jayson said his team is also monitoring activity outside the Permian as it considers growing its portfolio.

“We're watching on a weekly basis how many wells have been permitted in every given state,” he said. “While we are Permian-heavy, we are definitely looking forward and looking for new opportunities in different basins and in different areas, but we usually do that very gradually and then if it's working, we get bigger.”

For now, there’s the current situation to consider.

“It seems like every three to five years this happens to the market from a commodity pricing standpoint,” he said. “Our management team is extremely experienced in handling these types of situations and adjusting to them as quickly as possible.

“They're not fun, but it's better to work with it.”

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