Cup Runneth Over
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Fracking proppants
9 min read
The article discusses ExxonMobil's innovative use of petroleum coke as a proppant, which is central to understanding the hydraulic fracturing technology that enables shale oil production. Most readers won't deeply understand how proppants work to keep fractures open in rock formations.
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Petroleum coke
13 min read
ExxonMobil's breakthrough involves upgrading petroleum coke from a low-value byproduct to a high-value proppant. Understanding what petroleum coke is and how it's traditionally been viewed as refinery waste provides essential context for appreciating this innovation.
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Floating production storage and offloading
11 min read
The article mentions Guyana One, ExxonMobil's fourth FPSO vessel, as key to their offshore production growth. These engineering marvels are critical infrastructure for deepwater oil development and represent fascinating feats of engineering most readers haven't explored.
“Growth is the only evidence of life.” – John Henry Newman
After years of careful study, ExxonMobil’s formidable research staff discovered that petroleum coke, a low-value still-bottom byproduct of oil refining, could be upgraded and used as a premium proppant, significantly increasing production across the company’s large shale acreage. The advance was material enough that Exxon’s CEO, Darren Woods, went into some detail about it during the company’s most recent quarterly earnings call:
“In addition, during the quarter, multiple third parties published reports validating the benefits of our lightweight proppant. Last December, we shared how we’re using low-cost refinery coke as a proppant that penetrates deeper into fracs. This improves access and flow, which increases well recoveries by up to 20%. Wood Mackenzie reported that our proprietary proppant is delivering significant improvements in resource recovery, supporting our own results…
This year, we expect about a quarter of our wells will use our new patented proppant, and roughly 50% of new wells by the end of 2026. This, along with our cube development, pipeline of new technologies, and deep inventory of quality acreage, is why our Permian production continues to grow well into the next decade.”
The news came on the heels of further advances by an Exxon-led consortium in Guyana, currently the fastest-growing economy in the world. In August, the Guyana One, its fourth floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel, came online, bringing total oil production capacity under Exxon’s management in the area to 900,000 barrels per day (bpd), up from zero just five short years ago. The company plans to grow that number to 1.7 million bpd by 2030.
One of Exxon’s partners in the Guyana joint venture is US supermajor Chevron, which acquired Hess in July of this year, thus gaining access to the huge potential in the South American country. Oil bulls recently got excited when the company announced it was trimming capital spending in the all-important Permian Basin in West Texas, hoping this would stem the relentless flow of excess crude into global markets. During a recent investor day presentation, Chevron’s vice chairman Mark Nelson explained the decision. The company’s rationale undoubtedly disappointed those hoping for higher oil prices:
...“Turning to the Permian, we have a winning position, supported by resource depth and royalty advantaged acreage that delivers peer-leading returns. With a highly economic
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