Growth in domestic crude oil and natural gas production will continue to benefit from the Permian Basin.
In its monthly drilling productivity report, the U.S. Energy Information Administration forecast U.S. oil production to average 9.1 million barrels per day and natural gas production to average 95.1 billion cubic feet per day in November.
Among them, oil production in the Permian Basin is expected to average 5.5 million barrels per day, accounting for 60% of US monthly production. This far exceeds the contribution of the Bakken and Eagle Ford (13% each) or the other four major producing basins, which will provide the remaining 14%.
While Hainesville saw the biggest increase in natural gas production in November, the EIA said the Permian averaged 21.1 Bcf per day or 22% of U.S. production. Appalachia is expected to generate 35.7 Bcf or 38%, while Haynesville will account for 16.1 Bcf or 17%.
The EIA credits technological advancements in the Permian Basin that have led to record new well production in the region in 2021.
The average production rate of new wells in the Permian Basin has increased for 12 consecutive years. The core area of the Permian Basin and its Delaware and Midlands basins contain multiple stratified shale formations. By 2021, each new well drilled in the Permian Basin will produce an average of 960 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
The agency noted that the Permian Basin has been producing oil and associated gas from vertical wells for decades. Since 2010, advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technologies have driven rapid production growth. The number of new horizontal wells will increase to 4,524 in 2021, compared to 350 in 2010.
A key factor affecting well productivity is the length of horizontal branches, the EIA report said. In the Permian Basin, the average horizontal well length has increased to over 10,000 feet in the first nine months of 2022, up from less than 4,000 feet in 2010.
“It’s an exciting time to be in West Texas,” Kathy Maxwell, vice president of the Permian Basin region at Halliburton, told The Telegraph by email. “We’ve seen an increase in activity since 2020. , operators are using the new completion technology we pioneered to stimulate multiple wells simultaneously using a single fleet. This helps operators improve capital efficiency and complete wells faster than ever. In addition, an increasing number of operators Choose an all-electric fleet to reduce emissions and save fuel while maintaining quality of service performance.”
By the end of the year, the company will be able to drill 80 3-mile wells in last year’s Permian Basin, Jack Harper, executive vice president of ConocoPhillips’ Lower 48, told investment analysts on the company’s second-quarter earnings call. two years.
“We’re drilling these wells faster[and]we’re using simulfrac technology everywhere,” Harper told analysts.
Technology has been helping Mewbourne Oil improve all areas of business
“Specifically,” Mewbourne President and CEO Ken Waits told The Telegraph via email, “the technology allows us to drill longer laterals, drill multiple wells on the same platform, and fract multiple wells simultaneously, increasing the It improves our efficiency and allows us to make better wells.”
Technology has also made artificial lift better and more reliable, allowing the company to keep production in-line, he continued.
“We also use hardware and software to allow us to manage our production 24/7,” Waits wrote. “In the end, technology allows us to reduce our environmental footprint, reduce our methane emissions, use less water and operate more safely.”