Permian Basin Oil Production Seen Doubling Through 2023

Oil production in the Permian Basin in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, already a major force in global supply growth, will rise nearly 3 MMbbld by 2023—a level of growth exceeding most recent estimates, a new outlook by IHS Markit says. What the report describes as a “stunning” level of growth will comprise more than 60% of net global growth during that timeframe. Total oil production in the Permian will be 5.4 MMbbld in 2023, more than the total production of any OPEC member country other than Saudi Arabia.

Nearly 41,000 new wells and $308 billion in upstream spending between 2018 and 2023 will drive that growth. Production of both natural gas and natural gas liquids in the Permian are also expected to double during this period, reaching 15 Bcfd and 1.7 MMbbld, respectively. “In the past 24 months, production from just this one region, the Permian, has grown far more than any other entire country in the world,” said Daniel Yergin, vice chairman at IHS Markit. “Add an additional 3 MMbbld by 2023—more than the total present-day production of Kuwait—and you have a level of production that exceeds the current production of every OPEC nation except for Saudi Arabia.”

The consultancy’s Permian production outlook draws on information from IHS Markit’s proprietary performance evaluator database, which includes detailed information of more than one million wells globally, along with analysis from experts covering world crude markets, North American gas, midstream and infrastructure, costs, and natural gas liquids.

(SOURCE: The Weekly Propane Newsletter, July 23, 2018, published by Butane-Propane News)