Author: WeWorldMedia-admin

Well completions per location more than double in Lower 48 states as technology advances

Published: 7 May 2025
Categories: US Energy Information Administration

RSS feed source: US Energy Information Administration

In-brief analysis

May 7, 2025

Data source: FracFocus
Note: To calculate the number of wells completed per location, we grouped wells within a 50-foot radius into single locations. We then identified wells completed by their completion start and end dates, counting concurrent completions when their completion periods overlapped.

We estimate that the average number of wells completed simultaneously at the same location in the Lower 48 states has more than doubled, increasing from 1.5 wells in December 2014 to more than 3.0 wells in June 2024. By completing multiple wells at once rather than sequentially, operators can accelerate their production timeline and reduce their cost per well. The increasing number of simultaneous completions reflects significant technological advances in hydraulic fracturing operations, particularly in equipment capabilities and operational strategies.

Using data from FracFocus to estimate simultaneous

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4 planets discovered around Barnard’s star, one of the closest stars to Earth

Published: 7 May 2025
Categories: National Science Foundation

RSS feed source: US Energy Information Administration

Researchers supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation have discovered four tiny exoplanets orbiting Barnard’s star, a red dwarf at the center of the nearest single-star system to Earth. Using a specialized instrument mounted on the NSF-supported Gemini North Telescope in Hawaii, the team detected “wobbles” in the motion of Barnard’s star by observing subtle shifts in the color of its light, indicating the gravitational pull from nearby exoplanets. The planets’ surfaces are too hot to support life as we know it.

The researchers made their discovery using the M-dwarf Advanced Radial velocity Observer Of Neighboring eXoplanets (MAROON-X) spectrometer, which is designed to detect exoplanets. Their results were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters and show promise for finding and confirming more small planets around other red dwarf stars, which are numerous in the universe.

“The U.S. National Science Foundation is collaborating with the astronomy community on an adventure to look deeper into the universe to detect planets with environments that might resemble Earth’s,” says Martin Still, NSF program director for the International Gemini Observatory. “The planet discoveries provided by MAROON-X mounted on Gemini North provide a significant step along that journey.”

Most of the planets previously discovered in the Milky Way galaxy are much larger than Earth, making detecting these relatively tiny planets a fundamental step towards a more complete understanding of planet populations.

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U.S. sustainable aviation fuel production takes off as new capacity comes online

Published: 6 May 2025
Categories: US Energy Information Administration

RSS feed source: US Energy Information Administration

In-brief analysis

May 6, 2025

Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Petroleum Supply Monthly; company announcements and trade press
Note: Other Biofuels includes sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), renewable heating oil, renewable naphtha, renewable propane, renewable gasoline, and other emerging biofuels that are in various stages of development and commercialization. SAF production capacity is an estimate based on company announcements and trade press and only includes hydroprocessed esters and fatty acids (HEFA) SAF. We do not publish SAF production capacity data.

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) production is growing in the United States as new capacity comes online. U.S. production of Other Biofuels, the category we use to capture SAF in our Petroleum Supply Monthly, approximately doubled from December 2024 to February 2025.

SAF is an alternative to petroleum jet fuel. It’s produced from agricultural and waste feedstocks

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