Chevron, ExxonMobil plan to ramp up shale production
OSLO, Norway -- Chevron and ExxonMobil recently revealed plans to considerably ramp up production in the U.S. shale heartland as the oil giants seek to go from shale to scale in the Permian.
An in-depth report by Rystad Energy's shale team examined which operator holds the best potential in the prolific basin spanning regions of Texas and New Mexico:
- Drilling activity: ExxonMobil will have to drill about twice as many new wells as Chevron to reach the communicated production goal.
- Rig programs: Chevron does not currently aim to ramp up drilling in the Permian. ExxonMobil, on the other hand, is convinced a large-scale ramp-up of its Permian drilling campaign is exactly what it needs in order to achieve capital efficiency.
- Acreage: Chevron's legacy land accounts for 1.7 million acres across the Permian Delaware and Permian Midland basins. ExxonMobil currently owns 1.6 million acres in the Permian.
- Well economics: Driven by exceptional well productivity, Chevron is able to achieve exceptionally low costs for each barrel of oil equivalent produced in both the Texas and New Mexico parts of the basin.
- Scale: In the Delaware Basin, Chevron is the indisputable leader in terms of average pad size as of 2018.
For more information, visit www. rystadenergy.com or call +47 24 00 42 00.
Williams, CPPIB form $3.8B joint venture
TULSA, Okla. and TORONTO -- Williams recently carried out a series of transactions that will establish a new platform for the optimization of its midstream operations in the western Marcellus and Utica basins through a long-term partnership with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).
Williams and CPPIB have entered into a definitive agreement to establish a $3.8 billion joint venture that will include Williams' 100-percent owned Ohio Valley Midstream (OVM) system and 100 percent of the Utica East Ohio Midstream (UEO) system. CPPIB will invest approximately $1.34 billion (subject to closing adjustments) for a 35-percent ownership stake in the joint venture. Williams will retain 65-percent ownership, operate the combined business and consolidate the financial results of the joint venture in Williams' financial statements.
For more information, visit www. williams.com or call (800) 945-5426.
Re-frac market soars past 550 horizontal wells in 2018
OSLO, Norway -- The horizontal re-frac market within the U.S. onshore scene has boomed in recent years, with the number of horizontal re-frac jobs increasing every year for the past 10 years.
In 2009, fewer than 10 wells were re-fracked, but in 2018, that number ballooned to more than 550 wells.
New 2018 data is still preliminary amid some reporting delays at press time for frac jobs in the fourth quarter of 2018. However, Rystad Energy's initial analysis reveals some interesting insights regarding the state of re-fracking.
One key takeaway is that, despite an increase in the number of re-fracked wells, the relative size of the horizontal re-frac market, compared to the original completion market, peaked during the downturn in 2016 at 5.3 percent and declined to 3.8 percent last year.
For more information, visit www. rystadenergy.com or call +47 24 00 42 00.
Utica shale production reaches record highs in 2018
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- During the fourth quarter of 2018, Ohio's horizontal shale wells produced 5,810,484 barrels of oil and 663,534,323 mcf of natural gas, according to figures released recently by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
Natural gas production from the fourth quarter of 2018 showed a 31.89-percent increase over the fourth quarter of 2017, while oil production increased 38.56 percent for the same period.
The ODNR quarterly report lists 2,575 horizontal shale wells, 2,241 of which reported oil and natural gas production during the quarter.
For more information, visit www. ohiodnr.gov or call (614) 265-6565.
