Contango Oil & Gas Co.

What Contango Oil & Gas Co. does

Contango Oil & Gas Co. is a U.S. independent oil and natural gas company founded in 1986 and headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company is publicly traded on NYSE American under the ticker MCF and operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary within Crescent Energy Company's strategic structure following the December 2021 merger with Independence Energy to form Crescent Energy Company (NYSE: CRGY). Historically, Contango pursued an acquire-and-exploit strategy across multiple U.S. basins, acquiring Mid-Con Energy Partners in October 2020 and Crimson Exploration in April 2013.

Following the merger, Contango Resources, LLC sold and transferred all of its oil and gas assets. Wyoming and Montana assets are operated by Aethel under a Transition Services Agreement with Crescent Energy through May 20, 2026; Oklahoma assets are operated by Great Horned Owls, LLC; and Permian assets are operated by Crescent Energy. The legacy Contango entity now primarily functions as a transition information portal, providing former asset owners with owner relations and division order contact details for each successor operator across the three basin regions. The company's mailing address is located in Irving, Texas.

Leadership includes Wilkie Colyer as Chief Executive Officer and E. Joseph Grady as Senior Vice President and CFO. With no active operations and all assets divested, Contango Oil & Gas Co. is effectively a residual legal entity maintaining public listing continuity and transitioning residual owner relations services. Post-merger growth and operational scale (260 Mboe/d combined production, $850M+ levered free cash flow in FY2025) are attributable to Crescent Energy Company rather than the legacy Contango entity.

Name

Contango Oil & Gas Co.

Legal name

Contango Oil & Gas Co.

Website

https://contango.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Contango Oil & Gas Co. is a U.S. independent oil and natural gas company that merged with Independence Energy in December 2021 to form Crescent Energy Company. The legacy entity has sold all operating assets and now provides owner relations transition information across Wyoming, Montana, Oklahoma, and Permian basins.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Others

Core offering

Contango Oil & Gas Co. is an independent U.S. oil and natural gas company that historically engaged in the exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas across multiple basins. Following its December 2021 merger with Independence Energy to form Crescent Energy Company, Contango's operating subsidiary has sold and transferred all of its assets, and the entity now exists primarily to direct former asset owners to successor operators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Asset Transition Information Services

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Crescent EnergycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCrescent Energy was formed from the December 2021 merger of Contango Oil & Gas and Independence Energy. Crescent Energy currently operates the Permian Basin assets and provides owner relations and division order services under a Transition Services Agreement (TSA) with Aethel for Wyoming and Montana assets until May 20, 2026.
• AethelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAethel is the successor operator for Wyoming and Montana assets following the expiration of the Transition Services Agreement with Crescent Energy on May 20, 2026. During the TSA period through May 20, 2026, Crescent Energy handles owner relations under the agreement with Aethel.
• Great Horned Owls, LLCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreat Horned Owls, LLC operates the Oklahoma assets of Contango Resources, LLC. Owner relations can be contacted at [email protected].

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights1 record

Direct peers

• Permian Resources: Pure-play Delaware Basin independent formed via the Centennial/Colgate merger — illustrates the consolidation path for Permian independents that Contango's assets followed into Crescent Energy.
• Crescent Energy Company: Successor entity formed in December 2021 from the merger of Contango Oil & Gas and Independence Energy; operates the same Permian and Wyoming/Montana assets previously held by Contango and is the most direct comparable for the legacy Contango business.
• Coterra Energy: Multi-basin U.S. independent formed via the Cabot/Cimarex merger with Permian, Marcellus, and Anadarko exposure — same general model of combining independent producers to gain scale, mirroring the Contango/Independence combination.
• Matador Resources: Permian-focused independent E&P with operations in the Delaware Basin; directly comparable to Contango's pre-transition Permian asset base.

Broad incumbents

• Diamondback Energy: Large-scale U.S. independent upstream operator focused on the Permian Basin; comparable to Contango's pre-merger Permian exposure and the broader independent E&P model Contango pursued.
• EOG Resources: Premier U.S. independent E&P with multi-basin operations including Permian, Eagle Ford, and Rockies — comparable on operator scale, basin diversification, and the acquire-and-exploit approach Contango adopted post-merger.
• Devon Energy: Diversified U.S. independent operator across multiple basins (Delaware, Eagle Ford, Anadarko, Powder River) — closely comparable to the multi-basin strategy Contango executed before the merger.

Emerging players

• Black Stone Minerals: Largest U.S. mineral and royalty owner with diversified basin exposure including the Permian — comparable to the type of passive mineral interest exposure that remains in transition at Contango.
• Mach Natural Resources: Independent upstream operator with Anadarko and Permian exposure that emerged from a corporate transition — comparable to Contango as a former independent that has undergone structural change and asset rationalization.
• Northern Oil and Gas: Non-operator mineral and working-interest acquirer focused on the Permian and other U.S. basins; comparable to Contango's prior non-op and partial-interest acquisition strategy and to the holder profile that emerged post-transition.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Contango Oil & Gas Co.