The database evaluates 950 technical papers that have been presented at shale industry conferences from 2018-2020. We have summarised each paper, categorized it by topic, by author, by basin, ‘how digital’ and ‘how economically impactful’ it is.
The aim is to provide an overview of shale R&D, including the cutting edge to improve future resource productivity. We estimate 2020 was the most productivity-enhancing set of technical papers of any year in the database.
Recent areas of innovation include completion design, fracturing fluids, EORand machine learning. We also break down the technical papers, company-by-company, to see which operators and service firms have an edge (chart below).
Completing a shale well depends on over 40 variables. Each one can be optimised using data. It follows that next-generation data could deliver next-generation shale productivity.
This note focuses on the most exciting new data methodology we have seen across the entire shale space: distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) using fiber-optic cables. It has now reached critical mass.
DAS will have six transformational effects on the shale industry. Leading operators and service companies are also assessed.
China’s future gas production, and thus its need for LNG imports, depends heavily on its prospects in shale: Technically recoverable resources have been assessed at a vast 31.6TCM by the EIA.
But >50% shortfalls are looming against the 2016 target to produce 30bcm by 2020. Production ran at just 11bcm last year. And many Majors have now exited. So what are the main challenges, hindering development?
In order to answer this question, we have summarised ten recent technical paper on the Chinese shale gas industry.
This data-file tabulates the most-cited challenges, and the solutions that are suggested to combat them. It also includes our “top ten conclusions” on Chinese shale gas.
Shale is a ‘tech’ industry. And the technology is improving at a remarkable pace. But Permian technology is improving faster than anywhere else. These are our conclusions after reviewing 300 technical papers from 2018. We address whether the Permian will therefore dominate future supply growth.
