Soaring Well Productivities, Emerging Deep Dry Gas Play Drive Marcellus, Utica Growth

摘要

The Marcellus and Utica shale formations rightfully are taking their places as natural gas wonders of the world. And for good reason. During the past four years, the U.S. Energy Information Administration says, these two prolific shales have accounted for 85 percent of the total increase in domestic natural gas production as reported in the agency's monthly drilling productivity reports. In January 2012, new gas production per rig in the Marcellus region averaged 3.2 million cubic feet a day and the industry was producing 6.3 billion cubic feet a day across the play. By September 2015, according to EIA, new Marcellus well productivity had rocketed to 8.67 MMcf/d and the formation was yielding 16.3 Bcf/d. The Utica, while still in its infancy, has seen even more impressive productivity gains, EIA points out. Total gas production has increased 18-fold during the past two-and-a-half years to 2.6 Bcf/d, and new Utica production per rig jumped from 300.0 Mcf/d in January 2012 to 6.0 MMcf/d in September 2015.