Prairie Operating: Scaling Up in the DJ — A Look at the Bolt-On Strategy

A look at Prairie’s pivot from crypto to DJ-basin operations, the assets acquired, and what the data says about productivity and risks.

For paid subscribers, interactive version can be found here

A Quick Note:

If you are like me, you or someone you know has been directly impacted by the flooding out in the hill country. As a parent, it hits maybe a bit harder and I can’t imagine what some of these families may be going through. If you can, help out.

The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country, a registered 501(c)(3) charity, has established the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund. Funds will go to vetted organizations providing rescue, relief, and recovery efforts, as well as flood assistance.

Background

It’s not often that you see a crypto-miner pivot into DJ-basin operatorship as a pubco (ok, this is the only example of this). Enter Prairie Operating.

• Purchased something like 40,000 acres of, well let’s call it “prospective”, DJ assets with minimal production from Exok in May 2023. Visually, it’s the large continuous yellow acreage block in the north.

• Effective February 2024, bolted on 5,526 net leasehold/mineral acres from smallco Nickel Road, with ~3,370 boepd of production for $94.5 million. Visually, it’s the yellow acreage directly offset of Bayswater and the block far to the southwest.

• Divested Crypto assets for $2 million (1 in cash upfront and the rest in deferred payments).

• Closed first big acquisition of private Bayswater for $602.75 million in April, 2025. Net acreage of ~24,000 with 26,000 boepd of production.

• Announced another small acquisition on July 2, 2025 for 12.5 million of Edge Energy II LLC, funded with cash from the credit facility. Edge holds about 11,000 acres of also “prospective” acreage with minimal production.

  

  In this note, we’ll look into these assets a bit more deeply and compare to public disclosures, while also looking into capex breakdowns. I hold no vested interest in this company; I will largely just be trying to take a non-biased view on where value lies and what path the company seems to be taking.