Enverus Intelligence Research (EIR), a subsidiary of Enverus, an energy-dedicated SaaS company, has released an analysis of recent well performance and economics in the Utica shale and how it compares to other U.S. oil plays. Mah Noor Imtiaz, an associate at EIR, states, “A relatively small and consistent proven fairway for Utica oil achieves economics that rank below the Midland, Delaware, and Denver-Julesburg (DJ) but above the Bakken and Eagle Ford. Recent Utica oil wells have production rates similar to those in the Delaware, though with longer laterals. While the longer laterals reduce per-foot costs, steep declines lead to lower per-foot oil recoveries than the Permian play.”
Key takeaways from the report include the following: (1) Recent wells targeting the oil-rich portion of the Utica shale in Ohio generate breakevens competitive with those in the Bakken and Eagle Ford plays, though less economic than wells in the Midland, Delaware, and DJ Basins. (2) These Utica oil wells achieve production rates over their first six months comparable to the Delaware Basin in Texas and New Mexico, one of the most lucrative oil-producing areas in the United States. However, this production is achieved with lateral lengths that are 55 percent longer than those in the Delaware. (3) Utica operators are drilling step-out locations to the north, west, and south of the main fairway to extend the economic potential of the Utica oil play. The competitive economics of wells to date support continued delineation.
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