How Tight-Oil Wells Grow Old
Tight-oil production in the US set new records in 2019, but the banner year ended with an important caveat: more than two-thirds of crude production from shale plays flowed from wells drilled in the past 2 years. The figure reflects the fast-paced life of horizontal wells while also highlighting that older assets are not contributing as originally expected. [cont'd]
Low-Cost Fracking Offers Boon to Oil Producers, Headaches for Suppliers
At a dusty drilling site east of San Antonio, shale producer EOG Resources Inc recently completed its latest well using a new technology developed by a small services firm that promises to slash the cost of each by $200,000.
Fracking 101
Hydraulic Fracturing or “Fracking” has been in common use in the oil and gas industry since 1947. Basic questions about fracking are discussed, what it is, how it works; misperceptions and myths about fracking are debunked.[cont'd]
Hoping for Gusher, Fracker Came Up Short
Two years ago, Encana Corp. unveiled a supersize fracking operation that many said would represent the future of the U.S. drilling boom. Unfortunately, performance has fallen off significantly. [cont'd]
Fracking’s Secret Problem – Oil Wells aren’t Producing as Much as Forecast
The wells of some producers in the Permian Basin appear to lag behind forecasts. Thousands of shale wells drilled in the last five years are pumping less oil and gas than their owners forecast to investors, raising questions about the strength and profitability of the fracking boom that turned the U.S. into an oil superpower. [cont'd]
Update on the Permian Basin and Oil Market Outlook
The authors think they are seeing the first signs of field exhaustion on the Midland (Eastern) side of the Permian. They cite productivity growth between 2013 and 2017 per lateral foot in the Permian as growing materially by 20% compounded per year. However, they claim that in 2018 that growth slowed to 3%. [cont'd]
