The acquisition and diversification strategy has worked. Analysts who cover NOG expect annual revenue of $2.2 billion and adjusted net income of $594 million in 2024. Since 2018, that’s average annual growth of 22% and 27%, respectively. With the growth, NOG is now generating enough free cash flow to reward shareholders with one of the higher dividend rates in the industry. They recently increased their quarterly dividend to 42 cents per share, up 11% from a year ago.

Another advantage of the non-operator model is that it could potentially work with other energy markets. There is still a long way to go before the US energy system becomes greener and natural gas could prove to be a kind of bridge, but new markets are also developing.

“We’re really at a point in the U.S. energy space where supplies are becoming a problem. The Permian Basin is currently 60 to 70 percent developed,” O’Grady said.

O’Grady says the operators at Williston are doing a great job of maintaining production, “but it’s only in the eighth inning of its life.”

O’Grady says that many of these new technologies are still in their early stages from an investment perspective and NOG is a late entrant. Nevertheless, the company is monitoring these markets.

“We’ve looked at pretty much everything there is,” O’Grady said. “We could own a non-operating stake in anything. … I would say that as a company, over time, we will invest in whatever the future brings.”