Has US Onshore Activity Hit Another Inflection Point?

摘要

The number of rigs operating in the US onshore stagnated in 2013 despite steady growth in production, as operators leveraged significant savings in drilling times and well completions to drill more wells with fewer rigs (EIF Oct.23'13). But an inflection point in overall activity levels has appeared on the horizon, as robust cash flows from $100 oil and $4.50 gas allow producers to put their foot on the accelerator once more. The "efficiency drive" that displaced the industry's inefficient drilling frenzy to hold leases early on in the US shale boom has been well documented, but latest figures still impress. Data from oil-field services giant Baker Hughes show that the number of wells a rig could drill in a three-month period in the onshore US rose 13.6% between the first quarter of 2012 and fourth quarter of 2013, to 5.35 wells per rig.