Pad Drilling Increases Bakken Shale Growth Predictions for 2014

Oil and natural gas industry analysts predict that investments by operators in the Bakken shale will exceed $15 billion for drilling and completions this year. If so, Bakken would hold second place in the United States Lower 48, with Eagle Ford in the number one spot. As with other large shale regions, infrastructure problems are continuing to constrain production, but operators still believe they will be able to recover at least 20 billion barrels of oil over the life of the plays. Analyst predictions for Bakken and Three Forks are an average of 1.1 million barrels of oil per day in 2014, with growth exceeding 1.5 million barrels of oil per day in 2020. At the same time, costs for wells continue to decrease, in part due to pad drilling. Three years ago, the average well cost more than $10 million, but with pad drilling techniques, the average well costs between $7 and $8 million. This significant price reduction is not the only benefit pad drilling brings to the table. It also reduce
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