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S&P Global Platts Feature:
US Shale Oil Productivity Growth Expected To Slow In Some Basins
Operative words:
- growth
- expected
- to slow
- in some basins
The dramatic jump in productivity seen in the early days of the US shale oil boom may be waning, but is likely not over, according to analysts, who expect efficiencies, at least for some plays, to edge higher in 2020.
While productivity is expected to climb, drilling has slowed, and thus shale production gains are expected to slow. In the Delaware Basin in West Texas, for instance, S&P Global Platts Analytics expects crude output to average 1.5 million b/d in December 2020, up 15% on the year. That's down from a 16% gain in December 2019, and a 57% gain in December 2018.
Wells have become increasingly larger as E&P companies have drilled longer laterals, or horizontal legs, and used more proppant – sand and/or water that keep fractures open and facilitate oil and gas flow to the surface.Deep in the article:
Moreover, improvements, at least in the Permian and Bakken Shale of North Dakota where efficiencies are still rising, will continue for at least another year.And:
"In the Bakken, Eagle Ford and DJ Basin [in Colorado], well productivity is observed at or close to all-time highs as of 1H 2019," the report said.
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So Put Those Headphones On And Play It Loud ...
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Yorkshire
For some reason, this song takes me back to those nights with a most beautiful woman in the pubs in north Yorkshire. Ah, yes, another life, so many decades ago.
