Shale growth has been slowing due to fears over the energy transition, as Permian upstream CO2 emissions reached a new high in 2019. We have disaggregated the CO2 across 14 causes. It could be eliminated by improved technologies and operations, making Permian production carbon neutral: uplifting NPVs by c$4-7/boe, re-attracting a vast wave of capital and growth. This 26-page note identifies the best opportunities.
Pages 2-5 show how fears over the energy transition have slowed down shale growth in 2019.
Pages 6-10 disaggregate the CO2 intensity of the Permian, by source and by operator, based on over a dozen models we have constructed.
Pages 11-15 argue why increased LNG development is the single greatest operational opportunity to reduce Permian CO2 intensity.
Pages 16-18 summarise advances in methane mitigation technologies and their impacts.
Pages 19-23 outline and quantify the best opportunities to lower CO2 from digital initiatives, renewables, lifting and logistics.
Pages 24-25 quantifies the sequestration potential from CO2-EOR, which could offset the remaining CO2 left after all the other initiatives above.
Our conclusion is to identify three top initiatives that companies and investors should favor. Industry leading companies are also suggested based on the patents and technical literature we have reviewed.
The key challenge for the US shale industry is to continue improving productivity per well, as illustrated repeatedly in our research. Hence, this short note reviews an advance in fracturing fluids, which has been patented by BP. Diverter compositions are optimised across successive pressurization cycles, to create dendritic fracture geometries, which will enhance stimulated rock volumes.
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BP has patented a novel regime of fracturing fluids,which can be deployed across multiple pressurization sequences in its shale completions. The first sequence contains permanent diverting agents, introduced to create bi-wing and large fractures, then flowed back. The second fluid contains temporary, near-field diverting agents, which will dissolve in situ, usually within 24-72 hours, to expand the fracture network. Similarly, the third fluid contains temporary, far-field diverting agents.
The purpose of this completion design is to create dendritic fracture geometries. The diverting agents prevent fracturing fluids from leaking into the formation, so that primary, then secondary, then tertiary fracture networks can be created independently, each improving reservoir fluid conductivity (chart below).
The approach is data-driven. The formation of new fractures, with increasingly dendritic geometries, can be inferred from a linear slope between instantaneous shut in pressures on successive pressurization cycles. The fracturing fluids’ composition is also said to be determined based on Instantaneous Shut in Pressures, in-situ stress calculations and flowback volumes.
The permanent diverting agents may comprise mesh proppant, walnut hulls, large grain size proppants or particulates, such as polylactic acid, benzoic acid flakes, rock salt, calcium carbonate pellets. Small mesh size is envisaged (40-70 to 100 mesh), with low concentrations (0-0.1 lb/gal) to mitigate the risk of screen-outs.
The temporary diverting agents are not specifically disclosed in the patent, but are intended to dissolve in response to temperature, salinity, pH or other parameters. They may be pumped alongside proppant or standalone.
The patent is increasing evidence that Oil Majors are now innovating at the cutting edge of shale, in order to drive productivities higher. For a review of which companies screen as having the most advanced shale technologies, from the patent literature, please see our recent note, Patent Leaders.
Source: Montgomery, R., Hines, C. & Reyna, A. (2018). Hydraulic Fracturing Systems and Methods. BP Patent US2018202274
Technology leadership is crucial in energy. It drives costs, returns and future resiliency. Hence, we have reviewed 3,000 recent patent filings, across the 25 largest energy companies, in order to quantify our “Top Ten” patent leaders in energy.
This 34-page note ranks the industry’s “Top 10 technology-leaders”: in upstream, offshore, deep-water, shale, LNG, gas-marketing, downstream, chemicals, digital and renewables.
For each topic, we profile the leading company, its edge and the proximity of the competition.
Companies covered by the analysis include Aramco, BP, Chevron, Conoco, Devon, Eni, EOG, Equinor, ExxonMobil, Occidental, Petrobras, Repsol, Shell, Suncor and TOTAL.
Upstream technology leaders have been discussed in greater depth in our April-2020 update, linked here.
More information? Please do not hesitate to contact us, if you would like more information about accessing this document, or taking out a TSE subscription.
2019 has evoked resource fears in the shale industry. They are unfounded. Even as headline productivity weakened, underlying productivity continues improving at an exciting pace. These conclusions are substantiated by reviewing 350 technical papers, published by the shale industry in summer-2019. Major improvements are gathering momentum, in shale-EOR, machine learning techniques, digitalization and frac fluid chemistry.
Page 2 compares 2019’s shale performance to-date with our January forecasts, identifying that initial-month producutivity has been 20% weaker YoY.
Page 3-4 shows how continued productivity improvements matter, to unlock >20Mbpd of potential US shale output, plus $300bn of FCF by 2025 (at $50/bbl oil).
Pages 5-8 explain away the apparent degradation in resource productivity: it is a function of three alterations to completion designs.
Pages 9-12 outline 350 technical papers from the shale industry in summer-2019. They restore confidence: the industry is not facing systemic resource issues.
Page 12 covers 24 technical papers into “parent-child” issues. We were surprised by the number that were ‘negative’ versus the pragmatic solutions offered in others.
Page 13, 14 & 17 cover leading digitalization technologies: deployment of machine learning increased 5x YoY, while DAS/DTS increased 3x YoY in 2019.
Pages 14-16 cover the maturation of shale-EOR, which was the greatest YoY improvement, reaching 32 papers in 2019. The cutting-edge of EOR is exciting.
Page 18 outlines other technical highlights to drive future productivity higher.
What if there were a technology to sequester CO2, double shale productivity, earn 15-30% IRRs and it was on the cusp of commercialization? Promising momentum is building, at the nexus of decarbonised gas-power and Permian CO2-EOR…
First, this week, we finished reviewing 350 technical papers from the shale industry’s 2019 URTEC conference. The biggest YoY delta is that publications into EOR rose 2.3x. CO2-EOR is favored (chart below). Further insights from the technical literature will follow in a detailed publication, but importantly we do not see underlying productivity growth in shale to be slowing.
Second, we re-read Occidental Petroleum’s 2Q19 conference call. More vocally than ever before, Oxy hinted it could take the pure CO2 from decarbonised power plants and use it for Permian-EOR; with its equity interest in NetPower, 1.6M net Permian acres, and leading CO2-EOR technology. Quotes from the call are below:
On CO2-EOR: “We are investing in technologies that will not only lower our cost of CO2 for enhanced oil recovery in our Permian conventional reservoirs, but will also bring forward the application of CO2 enhanced oil recovery to shales across the Permian, D.J. and Powder River basins”
On decarbonised gas power: “What it does is, it takes natural gas combines that with oxygen and burns it together, and that’s what creates electricity and it creates that electricity at lower costs… one of our solutions is to put that in the Permian… for use in our enhanced oil recovery… It will utilize our gas that that if we sold it would make nearly as much”.
On the opportunity: “We are getting calls from all over the world, with people wanting our help to — figure out how to capture CO2 from industrial sources, and then what to do with it and oil reservoirs”.
Our extensive work on these themes includes two deep-dive reports linked above. Our underlying models can connect c10% IRRs on oxy-combustion gas plants (first chart below) with 15-30% IRRs at Permian CO2-EOR (second chart below). On these numbers, the overall NPV10 of an integrated system could surpass $10bn.
EOR remains one of the most exciting avenues to boost Permian production potential. So far, our shale forecasts assume little direct benefit (chart below). But an indirect benefit is implicit, as we assume 10% annualized productivity growth to 2025, which would underpin a very strong ramp-up (chart below). 2023-25 currently look well-supplied in our oil market model, due to falling decline rates, but this could be compounded by CO2-EOR.
We are more positive on the ascent of gas, stoked by increasing usage in decarbonised power. We see potential for gas demand to treble by 2050.
Completing a shale well depends on over 40 variables. Each one can be optimised using data. It follows that next-generation data will deliver next-generation shale productivity. Hence our new, 25-page note focuses on the most exciting new data methodology we have seen across the shale space: distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) using fiber-optic cables. It has now reached critical momentum, to transform the shale industry in six main ways…
(1) Productivity gains. DAS advances the shale industry’s quest for ‘ideal’ completions (chart above). The best studies to-date have already achieved c25% production uplifts and c10% cost-savings. Pages 2-14 describe the technology, its maturation and the recent step-change for its application in shale.
(2) Further DAS improvements could deliver further productivity gains throughout the 2020s, materially lowering the long-term decline rates in shale basins (see page 17).
(3) Economics break even at $15/bbl when deploying DAS in a cross-well, adding $0.8M of NPV10 at ($40/bbl oil) (see page 18).
(4) DAS levels the playing field, allowing newer basins and smaller operators to derive competitive designs quickly. Without this ability large operators in the Permian will crowd out the rest (see pages 15-16).
(5) DAS disrupts the Services industry, gaining dominance over other diagnostic techniques, such as seismic. Services’ adaptability is screened (see pages 20-21)
(6) DAS will give E&Ps and Majors an edge. To help quantify who is in the lead, we identify and rank the “Top Dozen” operators’ progress, based on their patents and technical papers (see pages 22-24) .
Will Shale-EOR add another leg of unconventional upside? The topic jumped into the ‘Top 10’ most researched shale themes last year, hence we have reviewed the opportunity in depth. Stranded in-basin gas will improve the economics to c20% IRRs (at $50 oil). Production per well can rise by 1.5-2x. The theme could add 2.5Mbpd to 2025 output.
Pages 3-5 review the theory of shale EOR. Its recovery factors could in principle surpass conventional EOR.
Pages 6-7 review lab results and field trials. They have been promising, suggesting >1.5-2x production uplifts should be attainable.
Pages 8-10 review the economics in detail. Our full model is informed by technical papers, and can be downloaded here.
Page 11 tabulates key statistics for using CO2 as a huff-n-puff injectant, the economic opportunities for carbon capture, but also the challenges.
Pages 12-13 attempt to quantify the production upside from shale EOR, by adapting our basin models.
Pages 14-15 cover the remaining challenges, including E&P patent-filing insights.
Page 16 lists a handful of companiesat the forefront of shale-EOR, including some earlier-stage start-ups.
Next-generation technology in small-scale LNG has potential to reshape the global shipping-fuels industry. Especially after IMO 2020 sulphur regulations, LNG should compete with diesel. Opportunities in trucking and shale are less clear-cut.
This note outlines the technologies, economics and opportunities for LNG as a transport fuel, following a three-month investigation.
Why technology matters. Pages 2-4 of the note describe incumbent technologies in small-scale LNG, and the need for superior solutions.
The cutting edge . Pages 5-7 draw on patents and technical papers to describe next-generation technologies, at the cutting edge of small-scale LNG. We model that they are economic. They can can provide LNG to the market at $10/mcf.
Potential to transform shipping-fuels. Pages 9-13 find strong economic upside for novel LNG technologies in the shipping industry, with potential to create 40-60MTpa of incremental LNG demand, looking across the global shipping fleet.
Less positive on LNG as a trucking fuel. Pages 14-15 explain why the economics are more challenging for LNG use in land-transportation, i.e., trucking.
Less positive on LNG use in shale. Page 16 explains, similarly, why LNG is less advantageous in the shale patch than converting rigs and frac spreads to piped gas.
Other technologies. Page 17 notes other companies with interesting offerings in small-scale LNG liquefaction, including advances by Exxon and Shell.
Have further questions? Please contact us and we’ll be happy to help: contact@thundersaidenergy.com
EOG has patented a system to deploy pressure and temperature sensors in its frac plugs, which are then retrieved at the surface, providing low cost data on each frac stage. The data can be used to improve subsequent frac stages. We model the economic uplifts at +$1M NPV and +5% IRR per well (at $50 oil).
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EOG screens among the leaders in shale technology, based on the patents and technical papers we have reviewed so far. However, the company is secretive over its intellectual property, notoriously banning camera-phones from its well-sites and publishing fewer technical papers relative to its peers.
However, last year EOG filed a patent for one of its data-methodologies, which we believe is being applied in its operations in Texas.
Specifically, EOG is housing “sensor pods” in its frac plugs. Each of these pods can record 50-100k data points, logging temperature and pressure during a frac stage. Later, the frac plugs are released, and retrieved back at the surface, where their data can be downloaded.
This methodology allows EOG to measure actual frac pressures down-hole, close to the perforations, for each, individual frac stage. The readings are likely to be much more accurate than the inferences from the surface. Downhole temperatures can also be measured.
Why is this useful?
First, the data can be used to enhance EOG’s modelling of the fracture network. In turn, this can be used to infer mechanical properties of the formation, and optimise future frac stages: tailoring perforation geometry, injection rates, sand concentrations, fluid viscosity and chemicals compositions.
Moreover, the data can be used to detect problems. If a frac stage has not been properly isolated, then pressure will not build up as much on either side of the frac plug. If a well is unexpectedly flowing(/not flowing), then downhole fluids will be warmer (/cooler). In another design, the sensors can be placed in neighbouring wells to detect frac hits.
If all of these factors can increase well productivity by c10%, then we estimate the NPV uplift at $1M NPV or +5% IRR per well. The technology breaks even if it can uplift EURs by c2.5%. These numbers vary based on the oil price (chart below, model here).
Wouldn’t fibre be better?
We have seen other operators making enormous strides deploying down-hole fibre-optics, to monitor pressure and temperature, meter-by-meter, in real-time across a 20,000ft well. This would offer more granular data, immediately. I.e., you would not need to wait until the sensor pods are retrieved at the surface to download their data.
However, we do not believe the cutting edge of fibre is currently practical for common usage in the shale patch: running the complete works of fiber-optics across an offshore well can surpass $1M. As we have learned from other patent-filings, retrievable plugs can be run “at a fraction of the cost associated with a tethered downhole sensor”. Our numbers above assumed $0.4M incremental costs for deploying EOG’s sensors across a 40-stage stimulation.
Another leading example of big-data
As we have highlighted in ‘Winner Takes All‘, shale is increasingly a ‘tech’ industry, harnessing advanced modelling or data-based optimisation in 60% of the 300 technical papers we reviewed from 2018 (chart below). So here is a cutting edge example from EOG.
Bustos, O, Raizada, S., James, C. et al (2018). Completion and Productions Apparatus and Methods Employing Pressure and/or Temperature Tracers. US Patent No 2018/0252091 A1
Naldrett, G., Cerrahoglu, C. and Vahue, M. (2018). Production Monitoring Using Next Generation Distributed Sensing Systems. Petrophysics. Volume 59.
Deffenbaugh, M., Ham, G. D., & Alvarez, J., O., et al (2016). Method And Device For Obtaining Measurements Of Downhole Properties In A Subterranean Well. Saudi Aramco Patent US2016320769
Pioneer Natural Resources is improvingthe accuracy of its Midland basin depth-models by up to 40%, using a machine-learning algorithm to re-calibrate its seismic from well logs. Faster drilling and better production rates should follow.
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Pioneer Natural Resources has patented a new methodology in 2018, to calibrate its seismic images in the Permian, with reference to its well-logs. Ordinarily this task would be challenging and time-intensive. But the new algorithm employs machine-learning. This places it at the cutting edge of Permian data-science, where just 2% of technical papers have used ML in the past year (chart below).
Specifically, a multi-layer neural network model iteratively improves the estimates of key seismic parameters from the log data (e.g., impedance, sonic velocity, Young’s modulus, Poisson’s ratio) (chart below). This algorithm improves the vertical accuracy of seismic interpretations by up to 40%.
The neural network creates different inversion volume estimates (208) from the well logs (202) and their attributes (204)
Improved well-placement and geo-steering. The patent cites how “reflectors that were previously unmappable on conventional seismic data can be mapped so horizontal wells can be more accurately placed”. This will be used to target wells into larger-capacity reservoirs and to inform well completion parameters.
Improved drilling-times. The company also cited a need to avoid drilling through carbonate debris flows in the Midland basin. They are excessively hard, damage drill-bits and lead to costly ‘trips’. Instead, it is intended to use the better-calibrated seismic to steer well-paths through brittle organic facies. Thus, we expect the innovation to lower costs and improve well-economics
Pioneer screens as one of the top quartile operators, across all the technologies we have diligenced so far (chart below). Although, please note, we are still “early” in our project to categorize who has the best technologies in oil and gas.
If you would like to read our latest deep-dive note on shale-technology it is linked here. The full database, covering all 300 technical papers is available here.
Patent Source: Meek, R., (2018). High Resolution Seismic Data Derived from Pre-Stack Inversion and Machine Learning. Pioneer Natural Resources USA, patent WO2018201114
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