Drilling Productivity

U.S. crude oil production has doubled in the past eight years, from 5.5 MMb/d in 2010 to a record 11.0 MMb/d this month — an astonishing 9% compound annual growth rate. But there’s more to the Shale Revolution than higher production. Its most noteworthy characteristic may be a newfound market responsiveness that U.S. production volumes have to price, in which U.S. producers flex their “sweet spots” and an at-the-ready inventory of drilled-but-uncompleted wells (DUCs) that can be ramped up when prices warrant and pulled back when they don’t. This newfound flexibility has profoundly changed the role of the U.S. in global markets. In today’s blog, we take a big-picture look at crude oil production growth, the special ability of U.S. producers to respond to shifts in crude pricing, and the potential for the U.S. to have a stabilizing role in global markets.

For a month now, the number of active drilling rigs in the U.S. has topped 1,000, the first time that’s happened since the spring of 2015, when the rig count was in the midst of a frightening tailspin — it fell from more than 1,900 in November 2014 to only 400 in May 2016. What a long, strange trip it’s been, not just for the rig-count total but for gains producers have seen in drilling productivity and in crude oil and natural gas production per well. Exploration and production companies are doing far more with less, trimming costs and increasing returns in the Permian, the Marcellus/Utica and other key production basins to levels few would have thought possible a few years ago. Today, we review the key changes we’ve seen in drilling productivity, and what they mean for U.S. E&Ps and midstream companies and the rig count going forward.

A number of indicators suggest that the energy slump that started in the latter half of 2014 has bottomed out, and that happy days are here again (at least for now).  Who would have thought back in the good ol’ days three years ago this month—when the spot price for crude oil was north of $100/bbl and the Henry Hub natural gas price averaged $5.15/MMbtu—that Friday’s $54 crude and $2.63 gas would be seen as anything but a catastrophic meltdown. But not so. The fact is that in 2017, producers in a number of basins can make good money at these price levels.  Consequently, drilling activity is coming on strong. Crude oil production is up more than 500 Mb/d since October 2016 to 9 MMb/d, a level not seen in almost a year. And gas output has also been poised to rise, if only real winter demand had kicked in this year. What’s going on? Today we discuss the fact that what we have here, folks, is a rebound unlike any we’ve seen before.

The oil price collapse has opened a wide rift between high quality “good” assets, breakeven “bad” assets, and ruinous “ugly” assets.  The consequences will impact energy markets for decades to come.  In our recently published Drill Down Report, we demonstrate the differences between good, bad and ugly wells by examining the diversity of production economics across the Eagle Ford basin and why producers have been zeroing in on the counties——and areas within those counties—where initial production (IP) rates are highest, and preferably where large volumes of associated natural gas and natural gas liquids can be found as well. Today we consider Eagle Ford counties in more depth—their IPs, their internal rates of return (IRRs), and the number of new-well permit applications in each county in the first quarter of 2016.

In the five weeks since February 11, the price of WTI crude oil on the CME/NYMEX spiked 50%, up from $26/bbl to $40/bbl (see black dashed circle in Figure #1).  For hedge funds that took long positions in February, it was an awesome trade.  And for beleaguered producers, it was certainly a bit of good news.  But there are no celebrations in the streets of Houston and Oklahoma City.  The fact that $40/bbl should be considered “good news” is sobering: Eighteen months ago, that price level would have been seen as a catastrophe for the producing community.  In fact, it still is. In today’s blog we examine the factors that help push prices above $40/bbl and what it will take to really get US production growing again.

For the past, year many shale oil producers have defied the expectations of many and kept output at or near to record levels in the face of falling oil prices and much tougher economics. Improvements in productivity, cost cutting and a concentration on “sweet spot” wells that generate high initial production (IP) rates have all helped cash strapped producers survive. But with oil prices so far in 2016 stuck in the $35/Bbl and lower range and with the worldwide crude storage glut still weighing on the market – producers are finally pulling back. Today we look at how increased pressure on North Dakota producers is putting the brakes on Bakken crude production.

The CME/NYMEX Henry Hub contract for January delivery hit a 17-year low yesterday (December 10, 2015) of $2.015/MMBtu, 46 % below year-ago price levels. But US gas production has been humming along near 73 Bcf/d, more than 3.0 Bcf above a year ago and about 1.0 Bcf below the all-time high earlier this year.  It’s a similar story for crude oil, with oil prices closing at $36.76/Bbl yesterday, but production hanging in there above 9 MMb/d.   This is a testament to lower drilling service costs and producers’ ability to improve drilling productivity. But can productivity gains and drilling costs keep up with continually lower commodity prices? Today we look at how productivity gains and falling drilling costs are impacting producers’ rates of return.

The natural gas market just managed to dodge a collision this summer between excess gas supply and available storage capacity. Now about a month into the gas winter season, storage inventories are still near record levels after topping 4.0 Tcf just two weeks ago. The Henry Hub CME/NYMEX January contract price closed yesterday (December 2, 2015) at $2.165/MMBtu, historically low even as we head into the highest demand months of the year. It’s now clear that 2016 will inherit this bearish market unless there is a Polar Vortex Tsunami in January and February. But what does this mean for producers, and how much will demand respond? In today’s blog, we begin a series on potential scenarios for the 2016 gas market balance.

The CME/NYMEX Henry Hub natural gas futures price averaged $2.64/MMBtu in September, the lowest level for any September since 2001, and it continues to hover at a similar low for October so far. Rig counts are down nearly 60% since December 2014. The market is on high alert for the first sign of production declines that might encourage higher prices – believing this to be a matter of sooner or later. Yet natural gas production has been hitting all-time records. Today we look at monthly natural gas production data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).