No Crying Wolf Here
Reese Energy Consulting today is studying the latest report from the USGS that suggests the Wolfcamp Shale and overlying Bone Spring Formation in the Delaware portion of Texas and New Mexico’s Permian Basin contain—wait for it—46.3 billion barrels of oil, 281 TCF of natural gas, and 20 billion barrels of NGLs. In other words, the largest continuous oil and gas resource potential ever assessed in Texas and New Mexico. Remember, in the 80s, the Permian was not even considered a good bet post its heydays in the 20s and 50s. But that was then, and this is now. With the advent of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, we’ve witnessed an amazing resurrection of the Permian that continues to surprise. And, boy, does it ever. For the last four years, the Permian Basin has become emblematic of U.S. energy dominance that continues to give, give, give. Deep in the Texas-New Mexico desert, where cacti spring and tumbleweeds roll, there lies so much oil, gas and NGLs yet to be harvested it’s impossible to imagine if the USGS is right on the mark or conservative in its assessment.