Posted on 05/12/2015 10:04:36 AM PDT by thackney
U.S. shale production growth will fall 86,000 barrels per day next month, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated in its monthly report, more evidence the nation’s oil boom is in decline.
The EIA’s monthly forecast is the second in a row to project an overall decline in domestic production growth, as diminishing output from older shale wells outpaces new gushers in the oil fields.
Producers have sidelined about 941 oil-drilling rigs since October, and oil traders are starting to see signs the U.S. shale boom is weakening, which could signal the global glut in crude supplies will ease. Crude prices have risen from below $50 a barrel in recent weeks to $60.24 a barrel in early trading Tuesday.
But U.S. shale output will only be down 1.5 percent to 5.56 million barrels a day next month.
Still, output growth is shrinking even in the Permian Basin, where oil companies have kept more horizontal rigs drilling for oil. The West Texas oil patch will see growth increase 7,000 barrels a day next month, the EIA said, compared to the 11,000 barrels a day it saw in May.
All told, production in three big shale plays — North Dakota’s Bakken Shale, South Texas’ Eagle Ford Shale and the Niobrara Shale in Colorado, Nebraska, Wyoming and Kansas — is set to decline by 94,000 barrels a day. Separately, 1,000 new barrels of oil a day are set to emerge from the Utica Shale in Ohio.
Looks like the Saudis were quite successful.
Drilling Productivity Report
For key tight oil and shale gas regions
http://www.eia.gov/petroleum/drilling/pdf/dpr-full.pdf
The seven regions analyzed in this report accounted for 95% of domestic oil production growth and all domestic natural gas production growth during 2011-13.
He thinks the recent slow-down has been healthy for everyone... it's forcing all the fly-by-night companies out of business, leaving behind the experienced established companies (like his) and that the pace has settled into a proper "normal". He thinks things are just settling out and now we're seeing the proper level of activity.
It hasn’t ended the new production, but it has cut the drilling in half or more.
yes... down to a more manageable, sensible pace (according to my friend). kinda like Texas once the initial boom there passed and they settled into today’s “normal”.
I don’t see this as a new normal. I see this still as part of the slowdown before it picks back up.
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