Shale drilling outside North America: what to look for in 2016

We predict that the number of international shale wells drilled in 2016 will drop by around 30% from 2015 levels. China and Argentina will continue to dominate activity, however both will see less wells drilled in the coming year. Cuts to Chinese NOC budgets and a transition from vertical to horizontal drilling in Argentina will result in a dip in drilling activity. We expect Saudi Aramco to continue its recent trend of drilling around 30 shale wells per year. The UK and Russia are the main countries we think will buck the trend in 2016. Regulatory changes in the UK should smooth the way for key wells to be drilled, while the Russian NOCs are committed to evaluating the liquids potential of the Bazhenov and Domanik plays.