15,000-Foot Wells and Record Gulf Shipments Accelerate Crude Flow

Super-lateral wells in the Permian Basin exceeding 15,000 feet accounted for 15% of new completions in 2025, according to a report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) published on August 19. A separate EIA report documented that maritime shipments of crude and refined products from the U.S. Gulf to the West Coast quadrupled in April and May, reaching 190,000 barrels per day.

The Permian, spanning west Texas and eastern New Mexico, grew from 2.9 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) in 2015 to 11.2 million in 2025, a 284% increase, per the EIA. Average lateral length for new wells grew 77% over the decade, from 6,149 to 10,867 feet. On the maritime front, the agency attributes the surge to a limited Jones Act waiver issued on March 17 by the Department of Homeland Security and subsequently renewed, which allows more vessels to travel between U.S. ports. The combination matters for the region because that flow of Gulf crude and refined products underpins the logistics network that supplies fuel to Mexico and other Latin American economies.

The well report notes that in 2015, short-reach wells of fewer than 5,000 feet accounted for 43% of completions; by 2025 that share had fallen to 4%. Mid-length wells, between 5,000 and 15,000 feet, moved from 57% in 2015 to a peak of 90% in 2021 and stood at 81% in 2025. The trend was also highlighted by Oil & Gas Journal. On the shipping side, Gulf-to-West Coast volumes reached 190,000 b/d in April, up from fewer than 30,000 b/d in January and February, while Gulf-to-East Coast shipments hit a record 1.2 million b/d, 11% above the pre-waiver peak. The EIA notes that before the waiver, renewable diesel was almost the only product moving by sea between the two coasts.

The EIA will continue publishing interregional maritime flows in its monthly reports; May data showed a total 12% decline, but Gulf-to-East Coast crude reached a record 180,000 b/d. The next monthly release will confirm whether the uptick holds as the renewed waiver remains in effect.

This article was written with artificial intelligence assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.