Christopher M. Matthews, Rebecca Elliott and Bradley Olson, Wall Street Journal, suggest that by drilling wells too close together, oil producers are jeopardizing the U.S. oil boom, here…
”Newer shale wells drilled close to older wells are generally pumping less oil and gas than the older wells, according to early corporate results. Engineers warn the new wells could produce as much as 50% less in some circumstances.
The newer shale wells often interfere with the output of older wells, because blasting too many holes in dense rock formations can damage nearby wells and lower the overall pressure, making it harder for oil to seep out. The moves could potentially cause permanent damage and lower the overall amount recovered from a reservoir.”
And this:
”The problems that have been revealed so far mean some of the more optimistic projections for production from shale regions may have to be lowered. In the Permian Basin, parent-child issues threaten more than 1.5 million barrels a day of projected growth, according to a 2018 study by energy consulting firm Wood Mackenzie. That’s more than the daily output of Libya, and the equivalent of more than $30.55 billion annually at current prices.”
We recently posted a story on how the EIA has consistently underestimated oil production in the US… Is that about to change? Here are weekly estimates from the EIA:
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