Permian tight oil production came in at 5.3 million b/d in July

Dear Subscriber,

In this week's newsletter, we delve into the most recent oil and gas production data from all?45,039 horizontal wells?in the?Permian?(spanning Texas and New Mexico)?that started producing from 2001 onward, through July 2023.

Building on our previous newsletter's theme, we've got two must-read posts by our VP of Product Management, Ted Cross:?"Evolution of Well Spacing in the Eagle Ford Play"?and?"Gas Well Productivity"

As technology continues to play an indispensable role in various industries, we delved into its implications for?reservoir engineers?through a recent survey with our engaged LinkedIn community. Check out the poll results below.

We're thrilled to be a part of SPE Austin!?Two more exciting events?coming up this month. If you're considering attending, connect with?Ted on LinkedIn ?for a chat. See you there!

[Blog] Permian – update through July 2023

Permian tight oil production came in at 5.3 million b/d in July.?This was slightly below the level earlier this year, but now that the decline in rig count appears to have halted, we do foresee a small rate of growth again for the basin.

Declining well productivity is still a major issue for the basin, which can be seen in both the Delaware and Midland basins.

In our latest blog post, we also take a closer look at the well results for Pioneer Natural Resources and Exxon Mobil, and reveal a trend that might be concerning to some.

Evolution of Well Spacing in the Eagle Ford Play

The Eagle Ford is one of the original unconventional plays, a laboratory for different well designs. Looking back over the past ten years, we can see that?the tightest wells were drilled 2015-2017. Since then, top operators have backed off to wider designs.

For Chesapeake, the shift was very sharp, with many of their wells in that period drilled at 330' spacing (measured at the closest lateral neighbor). Since then they have aggressively widened. EOG similarly reached their tightest during the same period, but only moderately backed off.

Devon has a similar trend, but Marathon has the most consistent, tight spacing amongst these four operators.

I am showing present-day spacing in this plots, and some of the wells well undoubtedly have infills around them, so?the 2021/2022 data will be underestimating the well tightness.?But it is interesting to see multiple operators try those tightest designs around the same time, and then collectively widen.

[Poll] What's in store for reservoir engineers in the age of AI?

This is a recurrent question in the oil and gas industry, and at the pace technology is going, there is no wonder why.

A few months ago we did a LinkedIn poll asking this, and?84% believe that AI will enhance the role of reservoir engineers in the future.

Gas Well Productivity

Is gas well productivity growth finally slowing? After a five-year run where per-well performance more than doubled in Appalachia & Haynesville,?12-month cums have started to plateau.

Are operators reaching the limits of lateral lengths and proppant intensity? These two parameters have played a huge role in the gains since 2015.

But even with productivity growth slowing,?US gas production has been rising, thanks to activity levels in the gas basins and associated gas coming out of the Permian.

[Event] SPE?Austin

Event Highlights from SPE Austin November Luncheon!

From tacos to tech talk, it was a day well spent. We shared remarkable insights on?well performance trends with machine learning in the Midland Basin.?We couldn't be happier to connect with so many local industry folks!

Until next time!

[Upcoming Event] SPE Denver

Want to know more about what’s happening in the DJ basin? Get ready!

Join us on the?15th of November for the upcoming SPE Denver General Meeting.?Our VP of Product Management, Ted Cross,?will be discussing an?analysis of the DJ Basin, utilizing machine learning models. We will dissect production trends, activity levels, and the underlying drivers of production.

? 11:30 am-1:00 pm

?? Fogo de Chao Denver Downtown

[Upcoming Event] SIPES Houston

Want to improve your understanding of well performance trends?

Be part of the SIPES Houston on?November 16th at the Petroleum Club of Houston, where Ted Cross will be discussing?Well Performance Trends in the Permian Basin.?

Secure your spot! Early-bird registration is available until Nov 14th.?