EIA Notices the Curious Case of Disappearing DUCs in U.S. Shale

For the past year or more DUCs (drilled but uncompleted wells) have been disappearing from the country's seven largest shale plays. Wells are drilled and completed in two broad phases. First, a borehole is drilled for an oil or gas well. In the case of shale wells, that includes drilling down (vertically) and then out (horizontally). After the initial hole is drilled, the well may be capped until a later date when the second phase begins of fracking and completing the well. Wells initially drilled but not completed are called DUCs. EIA has noticed the trend that DUC numbers are decreasing.

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