If current growth rates hold, the Eagle Ford and Permian will be producing as much oil as the entire U.S. in 2008 within two months

The EIA released new data and it now estimates production growth will slow slightly from July to August, but will remain highly robust. In total, the major shale basins are expected to add 320.7 MBOEPD in the coming month, pushing total shale output to a record 19,225 MBOEPD.

The Permian is predicted to add 73 MBOPD and 234 MMcf/d of production this month, giving it the largest growth among U.S. shale basins once again.

The unconventional revolution has transformed oil and gas drilling throughout the country, but nowhere more than Texas. The Permian and Eagle Ford basins have grown large enough to be meaningful on a global scale.

The two basins are expected to produce 4,842 MBOPD in August this year. For reference, U.S. oil production bottomed out in 2008 at 4,998 MBOPD. If current growth rates hold, the Eagle Ford and Permian will be producing as much oil as the entire U.S. in 2008 within two months.

Effective Rig Count Moves Steadily Higher

EnerCom has released its latest Effective Rig Count, examining the state of drilling activity in major shale basins.

The Effective Rig Count reached 2,840 this month, as rig activity and efficiencies both increased. The ERC takes into account changes in rig and well productivity, measured on a per-rig basis, comparing 2014 to today.

An ERC of 2,840 means it would take 2,840 rigs from January 2014 to match the production growth currently seen in the major shale basins today.

Effective Rig Count Moves Steadily Higher

Completions designs, drilling targets, and development practices have all come a long way in the past four years, and this level of growth is being achieved using only 944 rigs. Overall, modern operations are just over three times as productive as those in January 2014, though this multiple varies by basin.

The Bakken and Niobrara are the most improved basins, with current activities yielding 3.9 and 3.6 times more production per-rig, respectively. The Permian ranks third among major basins, as rigs are yielding 3.2 times more production than in 2014. This is impressive, as the completions backlog in the Permian decreases efficiencies. The least-improved basin is currently the Haynesville, where rigs are producing at double the rate of Haynesville rigs in January 2014. This does not necessarily mean rigs in the Haynesville are not yielding significant production, just that operations in the basin have not seen as much change as in other major shale plays in the U.S.

Effective Rig Count Moves Steadily Higher

 


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