Which Marcellus/Utica Drillers are Part of the “Thousand Club”?

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It’s difficult to compare apples with apples when it comes to evaluating how productive, or profitable, a hydrocarbon-producing well is. We typically think of wells as “oil wells” or “natural gas wells” or perhaps “wet gas (NGL) wells.” While there are some wells that produce almost all natgas or almost all oil, etc., most wells produce multiple hydrocarbons. Oil wells in the Permian Basin or Eagle Ford Shale (in TX) produce natural gas along with the oil coming out of the well. Many Marcellus and Utica wells in southwestern PA and eastern OH produce very profitable quantities of natural gas liquids, a mish mash of ethane, propane, butane, isobutane, and pentane. And don’t forget condensate (natural gasoline). So how do you compare the relative output/profitability/production for different “types” of wells? One way is to convert all of those hydrocarbons into one hydrocarbon–oil. Specifically, barrels of oil. Once you convert all hydrocarbons into barrels of oil, you have a way to compare apples to apples–comparing wells located in the same shale play or comparing wells from one play with wells from another. Recently the sharp analysts at investment firm Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. ran the numbers to convert and compare wells across different plays. They issued a report showing wells that belong to the “Thousand Club”–wells producing at least 1,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Where are the most such wells located? The Eagle Ford Shale, the Bakken Shale, and yes, the Marcellus and Utica Shale. Which drillers are in the club?…

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