Hydraulically fractured horizontal wells prevail in U.S.

HOUSTON, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Hydraulically fractured horizontal wells accounted for most new oil and natural gas wells in the United States, according to a report by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Tuesday.

EIA's data showed that in 2016, hydraulically fractured horizontal wells accounted for 69 percent of all oil and natural gas wells drilled in the United States and 83 percent of the total linear footage drilled.

Hydraulically fractured horizontal wells became the predominant method of new U.S. crude oil and natural gas development in October 2011, when total footage (in linear feet) surpassed all other drilling and completion techniques.

The combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulically fracturing has contributed to increases in crude oil and natural gas production in the country, which are both expected to reach record levels in 2018.

Although horizontal drilling has been used for nearly a century, its use as a source of U.S. oil and natural gas production began growing in the early 2000s. The process involves drilling a well vertically to a certain depth and then bending the path of the drilling until it extends horizontally.

Because it is longer, and the drilling process is more complex, a horizontal well is generally more expensive to drill than a vertical well, but it is expected to produce more crude oil and natural gas.

In 2016, total drilled footage reached about four million meters, about 3.3 million of which were hydraulically fractured and horizontally drilled. Enditem