Drilling numbers have been released for August 2018 and the Uintah Basin Small Business Development Center has offered their breakdown of what it means and what to watch for. According to their report, crude oil prices are staying between $65 and $79 dollars which is a range for oil production to be profitable, causing a slight surge in crude production in the Uintah Basin. There are 5 drilling rigs presently in the Basin, all of which are in Duchesne County and there have been 2 Natural Gas wells drilled in Uintah County this year. Increased demand is causing previously drilled wells to be put into production and as the economy grows so does the use of Natural Gas. “If crude oil breaks its channel boundaries, the market is quickly correcting it,” shares the report. “Due to that effect, we probably won’t see much if any increase in drilling rigs on the Duchesne County side. If crude breaks out of the $65 to $70 dollar range and stabilizes, we will see a change.” The Uintah Basin Small Business Development Center also predicts that moving towards the upside means there will be more rigs and doubts there will be movement to the downside which would mean less drilling.
