Fracking Strategies In The Bakken -- March 4, 2019

Fracking strategies in the Bakken are tracked here.

It is very hard to generalize -- it depends a lot on the field (location) and a lot on the operator.

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Shale Companies Risk Drilling Wells Too Close Together

From The WSJ:

Shale companies, adding ever more wells, threaten future of U.S. oil boom. Newer wells drilled close to older wells are generally pumping less oil and gas and could hurt output, leading frackers to cut back on the number of sites planned and trim overall production forecasts. 

It's a nice article for newbies who want to learn more about tight oil. The discussion is on "parent-child wells." As usual, the comments put the article in perspective.

Comments:

• as noted by another reader, The WSJ has generally reported only negative stories about the shale revolution
• I'm not seeing this problem (too many wells) in the Bakken; the NDIC and the oil companies seem to be managing the drilling units very, very well
• I think to say this about the Permian (too many wells) is premature -- that play has barely begun
• too many folks still look at tight oil drilling through the bifocal lenses of conventional drilling
• the oil companies will sort this out
• I'm inappropriately exuberant about the Bakken

From an investment point of view, one reader was upset that shares in EOG have not "moved" -- the reader says that based on that observation, he implies that he would not invest in shale, and suggesting that the majors (conventional oil) do much better. He should look at XOM:

• XOM: 
• $100/share, June, 2014
• today: $80/share
• EOG: 
• $117/share, June, 2014
• today: $97/share

Had that reader bought shares in January, 2016, he could have bought EOG for $70/share and sold for $130 in October, 2018.

Disclaimer: this is not an investment site. Do not make any investment, financial, job, travel, or relationship decisions based on anything you read here or think you may have read here.

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Central Texas Frack Sand Mine Hours Drop 10%

That's the headline from Energent today. This was previously reported from another source. This is not a breaking news story.

The lede:

In 2019, Texas will reach over 130 million tons of production per year of frack sand nameplate capacity, of which 85% will come from Permian and Eagle Ford facilities, as new construction projects wind down and ramp to full utilization.

Energent is closely monitoring regional operations in central and south Texas as mines shut down in the first half of 2019. Pioneer Natural Resources and Covia Holdings Corporation reported future closures scheduled in the first half of 2019 through company press releases.

Pioneer is divesting their Brady assets as the company shifts to West Texas supply.

Additionally, Covia announced the idling of their Voca facilities in November of 2018. These facilities have a combined frac sand capacity near 10 MMTPY.

Other notable sand operators in central Texas are U.S. Silica, Permian Frac Sand, Erna Frac Sand, and Superior Silica Sands.