U.S. Energy Information Administration said last week operators in Permian Basin “are getting more oil and gas out of the ground by drilling longer horizontal wells.” And EIA said operators are increasingly drilling so-called “super lateral wells” that exceed 15,000 feet. In the Permian, one of the world’s most prolific unconventional oil- and gas-producing regions, longer lateral wells allow operators to contact significantly more reservoir rock with each well to maximize production while reducing well counts and overhead costs.
In 2015 wells of less than 5,000 feet made up 43 percent of completed wells, and by 2025 they accounted for 4 percent of horizontal wells. Wells measuring 5,000 to 15,000 feet grew from 57 percent of completions in 2015 to 90 percent in 2021 and 81 percent in 2025. Virtually nonexistent before 2020, wells of more than 3 miles long accounted for 15 percent of all new Permian completions in 2025.
In Permian the number of new wells drilled has remained relatively stable while production grew from 2.9 million boed in 2015 to 11.2 million boed in 2025.
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