Three realities are converging in many basins to encourage more producers to refracture existing wells. One is that, other than in the Permian Basin, the best prospects have been drilled, so that newer wells are costing more to drill while producing less. Another factor is that newer frac technology is releasing much more oil than […]
Fracs: Field Laboratories, Ever in Transition
by Jesse Mullins Maybe the most remarkable observation one could make about hydraulic fracturing is the fact that its sophistication seems to expand at an exponential rate. Not a week goes by that someone does not announce a new service or product or technique that promises to revolutionize some angle or other within the […]
Sand: Delivery is Everything
“In most cases the largest cost component of frac sand for wells is the delivery cost,” said Bud Brigham, executive chairman and CEO of Atlas Energy Solutions, in an email interview. Atlas’s goal is “to get the trucks off the public roads” for safety, efficiency, and the environment. Those are similar to the goals of […]
To Allocate an Asset: Water
by Jesse Mullins MIDLAND, TEXAS—Welcoming the usual full-house crowd to the familiar confines of the Horseshoe Arena in this oil-and-gas-savvy town, the Permian Basin Water in Energy Conference (PBWIEC), in its fifth annual iteration, submerged itself in the depths of the ongoing “water in energy” discussion for two days (March 1-2), hosting a full slate […]
Water’s Place in the Big Scheme of Permian Things
by Jesse Mullins MIDLAND, TEXAS—After a two-year hiatus, due to Covid, the Permian Basin Water in Energy Conference, said by some to be the best conference of its kind anywhere, returned to the Horseshoe Arena in this oil town and picked up right where it left off. Or maybe it picked up just a notch […]
Going with the Flow
In a 2019 website post, the Produced Water Society estimated that the Permian Basin produces between 9 million and 15 million barrels of water per day. To put that in perspective, 15 million barrels equals 1933.4 acre feet, and Austin’s Lake Travis has a capacity of 1,135,000 acre feet. At that rate, Permian water production […]
Fracs in Focus
While not yet out of the woods, the oil and gas patient is doing better as 2020 gets further in the rear view mirror. Recovery signs are pointing upward—and none more so than those surrounding most types of energy demand and, therefore, energy production—and frac’ing is vital to that. The Institute for Energy Research reported […]
De-mystifying ESG
Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, released in 1962, is considered the starting point of environmental awareness for the general public. That book was focused on overuse of pesticides and their effect on bird populations—hence the “silence” Carson saw coming to springtime. Today that concern has spread greatly, to include fossil fuels, among other things. Investors in […]
Rystad Energy: Permian leads increased hydraulic fracturing activity
Oslo-based Rystad Energy said July 23 its analysis shows that new hydraulic fracturing operations in the U.S., which fell to a low of 325 wells in June during the coronavirus pandemic, are expected to return to above 400 in July. “Recovery will be especially evident in the Permian Basin,” Rystad said, “where activity has nearly […]
Permian Basin returns to status as top destination for fracturing crews
Investment firm Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. said this week Permian Basin is again the top location of U.S. hydraulic fracturing crews. Marcellus Basin in Pennsylvania had replaced Permian as No. 1 in Tudor’s previous report, but 10 more crews have returned to oilfield since – most of them in Permian. Of the 450 available […]