Rystad Energy said Wednesday the total number of started fracturing operations is expected to fall below 300 wells in April (about 200 in Permian Basin and less than 50 each in Eagle Ford and Bakken). That’s a decline of 62.8 percent in started fracturing operations between February and April 2020 “as the majority of public and private operators implement widespread fracturing holidays.” Rystad said started fracturing operations fell from 807 in February to 550 in March. Rystad’s shale research director Artem Abramov said, “With such a rapid decline in fracking already visible, very little activity will be happening in the oil basins during the remainder of the second quarter of 2020.”
Rystad called the forecast “the largest monthly drop in fracking activity ever recorded in the U.S.”
Rystad said Permian wells require about two months from start until they first produce oil and about three months to reach peak output. The Oslo-based research firm added, “Hence, the decline in started jobs which began in March will result in a lower number of wells put on production in May, which ultimately will lead to a drop in peak production in June.”