United States (US) Lower 48 Unconventional Oil and Gas Market Analysis, Trends, Competitive Benchmarking, Deals and Forecast, H1 2023

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US Lower 48 Unconventional Oil and Gas Market Report Overview

The US crude oil production grew in 2023 amid heightened geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The rise in international demand for petroleum products fueled oil production in the country. The United States (US) Lower 48 Unconventional Oil and Gas Market report provides a comprehensive analysis of crude oil and natural gas production in US L48 shale plays for 2020-2027. The report also analyzes the economic viability, well productivity, and well completion parameters across major shale plays in the US. These detailed analyses of the US L48 shale plays are critical in developing impactful business plans to gain a competitive edge.

Major Crude Oil Shale Plays Permian Basin

Eagle Ford

Bakken

DJ Basin

Major Natural Gas Shale Plays Marcellus

Utica

Permian

Haynesville

Scoop Stack

Major Operators Occidental Petroleum Corp

ConocoPhillips

Chevron Corp

Exxon Mobil Corp

Chesapeake Energy Corp

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US Lower 48 Crude Oil Production Outlook by Major Shale Plays

Crude oil and condensate production is reviewed across the four major oil shales of Permian Basin, Eagle Ford, Bakken, and DJ Basin. The US Lower 48 (L48) crude oil and condensate production is projected to increase primarily in the Permian Basin during 2023-2027. Moreover, the completion of new natural gas pipelines has effectively addressed the challenge of gas flaring, eliminating constraints on crude production. Several new gas pipelines, including the Gulf Coast Express Pipeline Expansion and Permian Highway Pipeline Expansion, facilitate the transportation of the gas, which was earlier flared. In addition, the high oil prices could provide favorable market economics for shale companies to thrive in this play.

Annual Crude Oil Production Outlook Across Major Shale Plays

Annual Crude Oil Production Outlook Across Major Shale Plays

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US Lower 48 Natural Gas Production Outlook by Major Shale Play

Natural gas production is reviewed across the major gas shales of Marcellus, Utica, Permian, Haynesville, and Scoop Stack. The highest contribution to natural gas production growth in the US is expected to come from Marcellus and Permian resource plays during 2023-2027. Marcellus is the largest natural gas formation in the country. The play contributed over one-third of all the unconventional natural gas produced in the country in 2022.

Annual Natural Gas Production Across Major Shale Plays

Annual Natural Gas Production Across Major Shale Plays

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The US Lower 48 - Mergers and Acquisition Activity

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) play a major role for E&P companies to remain competitive in the US shale oil and gas industry. From January to June 2023, more than 92 deals took place across the US shale plays. One of the biggest deals of 2023 was the acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources by ExxonMobil. This was followed by Chevron’s acquisition of Hess billion. A few other notable deals of 2023 include Chevron’s acquisition of PDC Energy, Ovintiv’s acquisition of oil and gas assets in Midland Basin from Black Swan Oil & Gas, PetroLegacy Energy and Piedra Resources, and Baytex Energy’s acquisition of Ranger Oil.

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The US Lower 48 Oil and Gas Market - Competitive Landscape

A few of the major operators in the US lower 48 oil and gas market by total net acreage are Occidental Petroleum Corp, ConocoPhillips, Chevron Corp, Exxon Mobil Corp, and Chesapeake Energy Corp among others.

Top Operators in the US Lower 48 Oil and Gas Market

Top Operators in the US Lower 48 Oil and Gas Market

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Scope

The report includes:

  • Analysis of the crude oil and natural gas appraisal and production activities in the US Lower 48 shale plays.
  • Comprehensive analysis of crude oil and natural gas historical production in US L48 shale plays during 2020-2027.
  • Detailed information on well development, permits and deals across US L48 shale plays.
  • In-depth information on economic viability, well productivity, and well completion parameters across major shale plays in the US.
  • Analysis of top companies’ net acreage, and planned capital expenditure in 2023.
  • Up-to-date information on major mergers and acquisitions across major shale plays during 2023.

Reasons to Buy

  • Develop business strategies with the help of specific insights into the major shale plays in the US.
  • Plan your strategies based on economic viability and expected developments in the major US shale plays.
  • Keep yourself informed of the latest M&A activity across major shale plays.
  • Identify opportunities and challenges across major US shale.

Table of Contents

  • 1. Major Developments in the US Lower 48, 2023
  • 2. Lower 48, Historical Production and Short-Term Outlook

    • 2.1. US Lower 48, Historical Production and Short-Term Outlook, 2020–2027

      • 2.1.1. US Lower 48, Crude Oil Production Outlook by Major Shale Plays, 2020–2027
      • 2.1.2. US Lower 48, Natural Gas Production Outlook by Major Shale Play, 2020–2027

  • 3. US Lower 48, Recent Developments and Trends among Major Shale Plays

    • 3.1. Well Development Activity, January – June 2023
    • 3.2. Rig Count, January – June 2023
    • 3.3. Drilled Uncompleted Wells, January – June 2023
    • 3.4. Well Permits, January – June 2023
    • 3.5. Deals, January – June 2023

  • 4. US Lower 48, Economic Viability

    • 4.1. Crude Oil Break-even Price across Major Shale Plays
    • 4.2. Natural Gas Break-even Price by Major Shale Plays
    • 4.3. US Lower 48, Well Productivity

      • 4.3.1. 30 days Initial Oil Production by Major Oil Plays
      • 4.3.2. 30 days Initial Gas Production by Major Gas Plays
      • 4.3.3. Estimated Ultimate Recovery of Crude Oil by Major Oil Plays
      • 4.3.4. Estimated Ultimate Recovery of Natural Gas by Major Shale Plays

    • 4.4. US Lower 48, Well Completion

      • 4.4.1. Average Lateral Length by Major Shale Plays
      • 4.4.2. Average Proppant Mass by Major Shale Plays
      • 4.4.3. Average Proppant Mass per Lateral Length by Major Shale Plays

    • 4.5. US Lower 48, Cost Trend

      • 4.5.1. Average Well Costs by Major Shale Play

  • 5. US Lower 48, Analysis of Top Companies

    • 5.1. Total Net Acreage of Major Operators
    • 5.2. Hydrocarbon Production of Major Companies, 2022

      • 5.2.1. Crude oil and condensate production of leading operators across major US shales
      • 5.2.2. Natural gas production of leading operators across major US shales

    • 5.3. Planned Capital Expenditure for Major Operators in 2023

  • 6. Mergers and Acquisition Activity in the US Lower 48, 2022 – 2023

    • 6.1. Overview of M&A Activity

  • 7. Appendix

    • 7.1. Abbreviations
    • 7.2. Methodology

      • 7.2.1. Coverage
      • 7.2.2. Secondary Research

  • 8. About GlobalData
  • 9. Contact Us

Table

Table 1: Shale play-wise acreage of the major companies in the US, 2023* 26

Table 2: Crude oil and condensate production of major operators by shale plays, 2022 (mbd) 28

Table 3: Natural gas production of major operators by shale plays, 2022 (mbd) 30

Table 4: Capital expenditure by major companies, 2022-23 ($M) 32

Table 5: US L48, major deals by oil and gas companies, 2022 – November 2023 36

Figures

Figure 1: Crude oil production in the US, January 2019- September 2023 (mbd) 5

Figure 2: Rig count in the US shale and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price trend, 2019-September 2023 6

Figure 3: Shale gas production in the US and Henry Hub price trend, 2019-September 2023 7

Figure 4: Annual crude oil production outlook across major shale plays, 2020-2027 9

Figure 5: Annual natural gas production across major shale plays, 2020-2027 10

Figure 6: Wells developed across major US shale plays, January – June 2023 11

Figure 7: Rig count across major US shale plays, January – June 2023 12

Figure 8: DUC wells count and total count of wells completed in US L48, January – June 2023 13

Figure 9: Well permits and wells drilled in major shale plays, January – June 2023 14

Figure 10: Deals announced in major shale plays, January – November 2023 15

Figure 11: Crude oil break-even price across major US oil shale plays 16

Figure 12: Natural gas break-even price across major US gas shale plays 17

Figure 13: Crude oil IP30 rates of major shale plays, January 2021 – June 2023 18

Figure 14: Natural gas IP30 rates of major shale plays, January 2021 – June 2023 19

Figure 15: Crude oil EUR by major shale plays, January 2021 – June 2023 20

Figure 16: Natural gas EUR by major shale plays, January 2021 – June 2023 21

Figure 17: Average lateral length by major shale plays, January 2021 – June 2023 22

Figure 18: Average proppant mass by major shale plays, January 2021- June 2023 23

Figure 19: Average proppant mass per lateral length by major shale plays, January 2021 – June 2023 24

Figure 20: Average well costs by major shale plays 25

Frequently asked questions

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