SandRidge

Crude oil production in the Oklahoma and Kansas Anadarko basin increased by 50 Mb/d in 2012 and is expected to increase from 190 Mb/d in December 2012 to 240 Mb/d in December 2013 – another 50 Mb/d (source: Bentek). These numbers are slow and steady compared to the bigger Williston Basin to the north where production jumped by 230 Mb/d in 2012 and is expected to increase by a similar amount this year. And yet a hard core of producers is happily ensconced in the Anadarko enjoying solid returns from drilling. Today we ponder changing approaches to shale production.

The Anadarko Basin centered in Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle has not yet developed production on the scale of the Bakken, Eagle Ford or Permian plays. Like the Permian Basin the Anadarko is an old field being recycled using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques. Spectacular initial production of over 5Mb/d from wells in the Granite Wash Hogshooter formation this year has excited producers. Today we look at the basin’s development.