Faced with continued market uncertainty due to falling oil prices in late 2014, U.S. oil producers operating in shale plays such as the Eagle Ford in south Texas have built a large inventory of nearly 1,400 drilled, but uncompleted wells (DUC) that are now driving the investment focus for many operators. The most promising of these wells belong to just a handful of operators in the play, giving them a likely advantage, according to new analysis from IHS (NYSE: IHS), the leading global source of critical information and insight.
The IHS Energy Analysis of Drilled, but Uncompleted Wells in the Eagle Ford Shale indicates DUCs can be converted to producing assets for approximately 65 percent of the cost of a new drill, significantly lowering the economics when evaluated against remaining costs. When considering the productivity of the Eagle Ford DUC inventory, nearly 40 percent of the 1,400 DUCs are considered to have attractive economics (break-even costs below $30 per barrel) and belong to a handful of operators, IHS said. Those operators include BHP Billiton, Chesapeake, Anadarko Petroleum, EOG Resources, ConocoPhillips and Pioneer Resources. Thirty-three other operators account for the remainder.
http://press.ihs.com/press-release/unco ... -pose-oppo
What is a DUC well?
What is a DUC well?
Dan Steffens
Energy Prospectus Group
Energy Prospectus Group