Insight

Getting our DUCs in a row again: does the Permian backlog fly away?

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The drilled but uncompleted (DUC) well count in the Permian has surged. After adding a record 800 new DUCs in 2018, there are now nearly 3,000 uncompleted tight oil wells in the Midland and Delaware basins. Is this the new norm because of larger pads, or just the result of last summer's aggressive rig build? Schlumberger recently commented that it expects shale producers to focus on DUCs instead of drilling new wells in 2019. We took a deep dive to show how inflection points in both price outlooks and producer behaviour are setting the stage for a meaningful change to the trajectory of the Permian DUC count. What could this mean for supply growth and why will DUCs be a focused area of spend?

Table of contents

  • Why the unprecedented build?
  • Pumping the brakes
  • Price incentives matter
  • The outlook for 2019 Permian DUCs
  • DUCs matter, but production isn't guaranteed

Tables and charts

This report includes 2 images and tables including:

  • Permian horizontal rig outlook
  • Permian DUC count trends

What's included

This report contains:

  • Document

    Getting our DUCs in a row again: does the Permian backlog fly away?

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