new oil and gas extraction technique saves time and money in the permian

After the oil and gas industry began using hydraulic fracturing in shale plays, it took less than 20 years for the U.S. to go from a net importer of oil to a net exporter of oil.

“Without hydraulic fracturing, we would not be energy independent right now in the United States,” said Jeff Newhook, a general manager of drilling and completions engineering supporting Chevron’s Permian Basin operations.

Now, Chevron is employing an evolution of the technique to hydraulically fracture three wells at once, called triple-frac. In 2024, the company began taking this approach in the Permian Basin. That year, it completed approximately 25% of its wells this way.

And Chevron is planning to use triple-frac on nearly 50% of its Permian wells in 2025. This will cut completion times by 25% and reduce costs per well by 12%, compared with simulfrac (hydraulically fracturing two wells at once).

Find out more about how triple-frac is helping Chevron continue to grow in the Permian, in this Reuters article.