Shale drillers are going for long - not deep - wells in the oil patch
New York
LONG is the new deep. Just ask SM Energy Co, which on Tuesday spent US$1.6 billion to expand its acreage in America's most prodigious oil patch, the Permian Basin.
The unique geologic makeup of the Permian, consisting of multiple layers of oil- and gas-trapping shale that span hundreds of kilometres, is well suited for a technique that's allowing producers to pull more crude out of fewer wells. Explorers there are drilling longer and longer wells, running thousands of feet sideways to tap as much of the crude-bearing rock as possible.
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Energy & Commodities
India's Vedanta misses Q4 profit estimates on lower prices
BHP targets Anglo American in bid valuing miner at US$39 billion
China's Sinopec charts global expansion with refinery in rival India's backyard
Gold trades in tight range as market focuses on US economic data
Oil settles lower as US business activity cools, concerns over Middle East ease
Orsted says Taiwan wind project to power TSMC on track for 2025 finish