Permian fracking sets new records with fewerworkers
Companies are hydraulically fracturing more oil wells in the booming Permian Basin than ever before and getting it done with far fewerworkers than just a year ago, according to new studies.
The trends showthat the industry, on an efficiency kick since the last oil bust, is becoming ever more productive as investors press energy companies to lower costs and boost profits.
Oilfield services firms fracked 18 Permianwells a day in June for amonthly total of about 550 wells, easily surpassing the August 2018 record of about 520wells, according to the research firm Rystad Energy. They did it with 20 percent fewer fracking crews, according to a separate report from another research firm, Kayrros. A fracking crew typically comprises about 30 workers.
Fracking involves pumping large volumes of water, sand and chemicals into already drilled wells in order to help break apart shale rock and release the oil and gas from within the horizontal wells. Fracking is key part of the process known as well completion, that is putting the well into production.
“Thanks to ever shorter frack times, well completions are holding steady,” the Kayrros report said.
This intensifying activity comes despite subdued oil prices. Oil settled Wednesday at a seven-month lowof $51.09 per barrel in New York as prices got battered by rising U.S. crude stockpiles, a slowing global economy and weakening growth in worldwide energy demand. While much of the
new drilling and future Permian growth is focusedonthe Delaware Basin, the western lobe of the Permian, most of thewell completion activity is still occurring inthe more mature Midland Basin.
The United States is producing more than 12 million barrels of oil a day, with more than one-third coming from the Permian.
“This latest batch of fracking activity confirms our belief that prospects look promising for U.S. shale production in the second half of the year,” said Oleksii Shulzhuk, senior analyst on Rystad Energy’s shale team.
Fracking activity had plunged late last year as oil prices collapsed by more than 40 percent from October to Christmas time, but the activity has recovered this summer after modest growth in the spring.
Fracking activity also has grown in South Texas’ Eagle Ford shale, North Dakota’s Bakken shale and in Oklahoma, but not to the extent of record breaking activity in the Permian, Rystad said.
Nationwide, Rystad said 49 wellswere fracked per day in June — upby fivedailywells sinceMay— which is just shy of the record of 50 wells per day in August 2018.