Majority of new oil, natural gas wells hydraulically fractured, according to EIA
Hydraulically fractured horizontal wells accounted for 69 percent of all new oil and natural gas wells in the United States in 2016 and 83 percent of the total linear footage drilled, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a recent news release.
Approximately 10.7 million of the 13 million feet of footage drilled in 2016 was hydraulically fractured and horizontally drilled.
Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have expanded the rate of U.S. crude oil, lease condensate and natural gas production. Crude oil and natural gas production in the United States are expected to reach record levels in 2018.
The use of hydraulically fractured horizontal wells began growing in the early 2000s and first became the largest method of new U.S. crude oil and natural gas development in October 2011.
Hydraulically fractured horizontal wells have accounted for the majority of new wells drilled and completed since late 2014. As of 2016, approximately 670,000 of the 977,000 producing wells were hydraulically fractured and horizontally drilled.
