We devote a lot of bandwith to the most pressing concerns facing tight oil development here at Infill Thinking. In the long-run, other constraints rise on the horizon. These are the big picture sustainability sort of questions for tight oil development. In this post, we list these big picture issues …
Read More »Thinking Ahead
The Eagle Ford Could Be Fully Supplied By Local Sand Soon
If new Eagle Ford frac sand producers execute on the plans we’ve uncovered, then South Texas completions activity could be fully supplied with local proppant in the near future. That’s what the summation of our research suggests. In this report you’ll find a detailed data driven accounting of what we …
Read More »Patterson-UTI Pressure Pumping Update: Mid-Con Mobe-Outs, Capex Treadmill, And Newbuild Abstinence
The very latest on what the 5th largest pressure pumping company in the US is doing to their fleet to try and capitalize on a hot market. The strategy doesn’t involve newbuilds, but it does include some interesting tweaks. There’s a lot more to this story… Login to see the …
Read More »As Oil Prices Run, These 8 Operators Face A Big Test Of Their New Year’s Resolution
Ironically, all the recent talk of restraint by tight oil operators is a contributing factor to the recent crude oil price rally. In turn, rising oil prices will put to the test this newfound US operator resolve to reign in the willy nilly spending of prior upcycles. With WTI an …
Read More »Cherry Picked Datapoints From A Bevy Of New O&G Presentations This Week
Since New Year’s Day, ~40 fresh IR decks have hit the wires from the O&G industry… and that doesn’t even include downstream or midstream. The presentation dump came ahead of the year’s first significant O&G investor conference this week. We have cherry-picked the following datapoints with 2018 implications from public …
Read More »$3.5 Billion Per Year. That’s How Much Cash Permian Dune Sand Could Save The US E&P Industry [Economic Impact Study]
A year from now, 20 new Permian frac sand mines could be operational if all build-out plans unfold as expected. Many risks linger in this story, particularly surety of supply at the wellhead and downhole performance. But let’s imagine for a moment a future world where the West Texas frac sand …
Read More »Twenty Questions Set The Tone For The 2018 US Oilfield Service Marketplace
We believe the following 20 questions encapsulate the transcendent themes facing the US oilfield service market during 2018. These are not in any particular order. We have included plenty of context and background for each question, but we stopped short of answering them. As the new year begins, so much can still …
Read More »Monday Was EL’D-Day’ – A New Last Mile Logistics Era Has Begun
Well, after all the outcry leading up to mandate day, did anyone really expect a smooth start? On Monday December 18, soft enforcement of the new electronic logging device (ELD) rules began. We discuss what happened when shifts began in this new era and what it may mean for the …
Read More »The Results Of Infill Thinking’s 2018 Outlook Survey Are In…
Last week, we asked readers to answer 13 questions about the outlook for 2018. The focus of our survey was key trends and themes in the US onshore business. Participation was strong, with a diverse mix of respondents – all of whom are well informed on Lower 48 trends. In …
Read More »Hiccups And Startups – The Very Latest On The First Nine Permian Basin Frac Sand Mines
Three Permian Basin mines are producing frac sand today. Over the next four months, six more plants are planned to begin commercial production in the Basin. Will all go according to plan? And who will win the race to be the next plant online? We have field-level updates on all …
Read More »