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| Low prices: Shale will suffer more than traditional oil |
| 2014-11-03 |
| [ARABNEWS] The recent decline in oil prices casts further doubts on the shale oil hype. Last summer the Energy Information Administration (EIA, a branch of the US government) published a compilation of data on cash flow generated by major oil companies. It showed how flat oil prices had translated into a flat flow of cash coming from operation. The problem came from the expenditures side, which were much higher than the cash generated, around $110 billion for the fiscal year ending in March 2014. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #11 Waterflooding' was a technique whereby water was injected [via input wells] into an oil bearing formation in a pattern that would force the oil in the direction of an operating well or lease. Don't even know if it's done anymore. Could have been outlawed by the EPA. It is still being used near Hennessey, Okla, a year ago, last I heard. |
| Posted by: badanov 2014-11-03 19:50 |
| #10 Get the feeling that this is more a (Dem) feature than bug. |
| Posted by: Grish Jones5024 2014-11-03 19:46 |
| #9 .......'Waterflooding' was a technique whereby water was injected [via input wells] into an oil bearing formation in a pattern that would force the oil in the direction of an operating well or lease. Don't even know if it's done anymore. Could have been outlawed by the EPA. I remember a farmer calling in a leak one time. Crude oil was running down a ditch near hill and wooded area. He had cattle and wanted the leak fixed. Cows will stand and drink crude oil until they fall over dead. The leak, wasn't exactly a leak after all. It was an old well that had been poorly capped. Waterflooding in the an adjacent area had forced crude oil up the old casing and out onto the ground. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-11-03 15:36 |
| #8 Interesting update Glen. Things have changed a little in the oil patch in 45 years. Years ago, when oil prices sky rocketed, pump jacks were moving everywhere. We had a lot of what were called "tramp pumpers" who serviced the old leases when needed. Most of the production went into 210 barrel tanks for tank truck pick up. To answer your question on fracking; I don't remember seeing old wells fracked. Sometimes they would get re-energized due to water-flooding however. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-11-03 15:26 |
| #7 Glenmore - does fracking revitalize stripper wells? |
| Posted by: 3dc 2014-11-03 14:30 |
| #6 We seldom shut in stripper wells due to price drops - the capital investments were made ages ago and the daily expenses aren't that high. What usually happens is that something in the well or its production system breaks, and THAT costs more to fix than the lower price oil is worth, so we abandon the well. But since abandonment costs money, we try to delay until oil prices have fallen enough that the service companies are hungry for work and cut their prices. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2014-11-03 12:29 |
| #5 Ship, you keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it does. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2014-11-03 12:08 |
| #4 I want me a stripper well bad, sounds like the perfect birthday gift. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2014-11-03 11:14 |
| #3 Correct Glen. The pumping of traditional stripper wells [low production wells in Ok, Tx, IL, IN, KY, OH, PA, etc.] will taper off first. They are expensive to operate in relationship to the amount of production they produce. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-11-03 10:48 |
| #2 Shale oil production has been very successful in increasing supply, which of course decreases prices. But shale oil production also costs a lot, so as prices decrease. their profit margins decrease, and thus drilling slows down. I suspect the 'traditional' oil they refer to are mainly big-bucks projects, in deep water or international, which have long-term contractural obligations and cannot be turned off (or on) in a month, the way shale well drilling can. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2014-11-03 10:43 |
| #1 As usual, I may be wrong but I thought the current lowering of oil prices was because of the increase in shale oil production. Anyone? |
| Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2014-11-03 10:31 |