CALGARY, Alberta (Dec. 4, 2024) — Enverus Intelligence® Research (EIR), a subsidiary of Enverus, the most trusted energy-dedicated SaaS company that leverages generative AI across its solutions, has released a new analysis of recent well performance and economics in the Utica shale and how it compares to other U.S. oil plays.
“A relatively small and consistent proven fairway for Utica oil achieves economics that rank below the Midland, Delaware and Denver-Julesburg (DJ) but above the Bakken and Eagle Ford,” said Mah Noor Imtiaz, an associate at EIR.
“Recent Utica oil wells have production rates similar to those in the Delaware, though with longer laterals. While the longer laterals reduce per-foot costs, steep declines lead to lower per-foot oil recoveries than the Permian play,” Imtiaz said.
Key takeaways from the report:
- Recent wells targeting the oil-rich portion of the Utica shale in Ohio generate breakevens competitive with those in the Bakken and Eagle Ford plays, though less economic than wells in the Midland, Delaware and DJ Basins.
- These Utica oil wells achieve production rates over their first six months comparable to the Delaware Basin in Texas and New Mexico, one of the most lucrative oil-producing areas in the U.S. However, this production is achieved with lateral lengths that are 55% longer than those in the Delaware.
- Utica operators are drilling step-out locations to the north, west and south of the main fairway to extend the economic potential of the Utica oil play. The competitive economics of wells to date support continued delineation.
EIR’s analysis pulls from a variety of Enverus products including Enverus Activity Analytics, Enverus Forecast Analytics, Enverus Foundations® and Enverus M&A.
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About Enverus Intelligence® Research
Enverus Intelligence® | Research, Inc. (EIR) is a subsidiary of Enverus that publishes energy-sector research focused on the oil, natural gas, power and renewable industries. EIR publishes reports including asset and company valuations, resource assessments, technical evaluations and macro-economic forecasts; and helps make intelligent connections for energy industry participants, service companies and capital providers worldwide. Enverus is the most trusted, energy-dedicated SaaS company, with a platform built to create value from generative AI, offering real-time access to analytics, insights and benchmark cost and revenue data sourced from our partnerships to 95% of U.S. energy producers and more than 40,000 suppliers. Learn more at Enverus.com.
