Drilling Productivity in the United States: What Lies Beneath

Brown, Jason; Rodziewicz, David; Tousey, Colton

Journal Article

Drilling Productivity in the United States: What Lies Beneath

Abstract: We construct new measures of drilling productivity and find that productivity increased sixfold from the mid-2000s to early 2017. Gains in below-ground efficiency?the number of barrels produced per foot of drilled wells?have largely driven this increase in overall productivity. The large oil price declines during the Great Recession and from 2014 to 2016 also played a role. However, further large increases in productivity are unlikely absent additional improvements in technology or a subsequent large downturn in oil prices.

Keywords: Drilling Productivity; Oil Prices; Gas Production; Oil Production;

JEL Classification: Q40; Q41;