Rigs in the Permian and Marcellus have become four and a half times and three times, respectively, more efficient over the last five years. While tight oil and gas development was once the domain of smaller, more nimble E&Ps, the majors have certainly taken notice and made meaningful entries into a number of onshore plays, including the Permian Basin. Exxon recently announced it will spend $50 billion on capital investments in US shale–related businesses over the next five years, tripling production in the Permian. Chevron plans to spend $3.3 billion in the Permian this year, and expects production to increase by at least 50% by the early 2020s.
Royal Dutch Shell entered the Permian roughly six years ago with the purchase of more than half a million acres. The company plans to invest $2–3 billion in shale development through 2020. We think it's worth noting these investments because we view them as implicit endorsements of US onshore's competitive advantage over many other international opportunities.