Permian ‘Child’ Wells May Cut Oil Recovery By 20%, Bank Says
- Tudor, Pickering, Holt analysis adds to debate on well spacing
- Child wells may ultimately recover 20% to 30% less than parent
Oil rigs stand in the Permian Basin area of Odessa, Texas.
Photographer: Sergio Flores/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Oil producers drilling so-called parent-child wells in the Permian Basin are risking the loss of 15% to 20% of the crude that can ultimately be recovered from those wells by spacing them too close together, according to a Houston-based investment bank.
The analysis from Houston-based investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. -- contained in a 61-page presentation seen by Bloomberg -- is the latest salvo in the debate on the spacing of so-called parent-child wells in the Permian, the most prolific oil patch in the U.S.