[Praxeologue]

Booking reserves also poses another challenge for the industry. From the point of view of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), one company may be deemed as a company that really knows how to produce shale plays. But if that company sells the same assets to a second company, the second company might be getting 30 to 40 percent less production per unit area.

Previously, it didn’t matter which company drilled the East Texas field first, because the company that initially drilled and the companies that followed would recover the same resources.

“But now, people are recovering vastly different reserves,” Gilmer noted.

A company can buy reserves in a play where other companies have found success.

“But if they don’t know the other company did it, the results can turn out to be wildly different.”

Not only is the industry still trying to wrap its head around this difficulty, but the SEC has not recognized the different production results as an issue. Gilmer describes understanding shale plays and how to successfully produce shale hydrocarbons as a “difficult onion to peel”.

Best practices are also still evolving, with 20 to 30 experiments in production taking place at the same time as the industry seeks to determine the best way to arrange information to get results.

“If a company drills a well and it produces 1,000 barrels of oil per day, people will say it’s because it’s good rock.” Gilmer noted. “But that’s not it, it’s something they did.”

What must be disclosed has become more complex with recent advances in unconventional E&P. How much of the 'technology' can be patented? To what extent must details like laterals, perforations, mud chemistry, etc. be reported to State authorities like the RR Commission and what of that is public? What does the SEC now view as 'material' and subject to disclosure? How does this affect the tradeoff between a better exchange of trade secrets for the benefit of the industry and the protection of innovators who have risked capital to discover new techniques?

[ckilmer]

What must be disclosed has become more complex with recent advances in unconventional E&P.
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A couple easy takeaways are that this technology will not easily be replicated in other countries. What’s more much of the knowledge of one formation will not transfer to another formation. they’re all unique.

so which companies have the best technology tools & know how? I think continental, eog resources, are near the top with a half dozen or so companies right behind them.