Current rigs generating 3x more production than Jan 2014 rigs
EnerCom released its monthly EnerCom Effective Rig Count today.
The Effective Rig Count reports an equivalent of 1,939 rigs active in the U.S. in May, up from 1,854 last month. Launched in January, the EnerCom Effective Rig Count seeks to account for improved productivity in recent field development.
This is the result of the increased productivity that technology advancements have brought to U.S. drillers. These improvements mean each rig active in the U.S. is generating three times more than the average rig in early 2014.
The Permian alone accounts for more than half of the total nationwide effective rig count, as the basin has an effective rig count of 1,124. Notably, while the Permian’s EERC has risen sharply since early 2016, the basin’s multiple has increased. In summer 2016, each rig in the Permian was generating 3.6x more production than the basin’s average 2014 rig, while that number is now down to 3.2x.
This is primarily because the number of rigs in the Permian has increased sharply in the last year and while production has also grown, it has not grown as quickly as the rig count. This keeps the multiple down. If the rig count in the Permian ever levels off, this value may rise once again.
The Utica continues to improve, and remains the most-improved basin since January 2014. Rigs in the Utica are each currently producing 4.6x more hydrocarbons production than the Utica rigs that were drilling in the beginning of 2014.
241 MBOEPD production growth projected for June-July, DUC count is up to 5,946
In the EIA’s monthly Drilling Productivity Report the agency outlined recent drilling and production activity. In this month’s report, the EIA provided estimates for production growth from June to July.
Not surprisingly, the current most popular basin, the Permian, will account for the largest amount of production growth in the next month. The EIA predicts that oil and gas production in the Permian will grow by a total of about 92 MBOEPD from June to July.
The Eagle Ford is close behind the Permian, with 66 MBOEPD of predicted production growth. In total, the EIA predicts that production from the major unconventional basins will grow by 241 MBOEPD from June to July.
5,946 DUCs, up 176 from April
The recent explosion of activity means that drilling has outpaced completions in many of the major basins. The Permian now has 2,163 drilled uncompleted wells up 125 from last month. The Eagle Ford also saw completions lag behind drilling, and added 47 DUCs.
Overall, there are 5,946 drilled but uncompleted wells in the seven major unconventional basins the EIA tracks, 176 more than last month.
