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The time taken to drill and complete shale oil wells in the United States depends on economic factors; between 2014 and 2017, the average drilling time in North Dakota was around 2 months, but the average completion time increased from 3 months to about 1 year. Furthermore, the production rate of shale oil wells declines very rapidly; generally, production reaches its peak in the second month after completion, drops by half within half a year, and loses its economic viability after 2 years. The Bakken region has the highest oil production efficiency among the seven major shale oil-producing areas in the United States, and this efficiency continues to improve, giving it great potential for future oil production. 1. The process of drilling to completion of an oil well depends on economic considerations. The drilling and production of an oil well begin with the initial drilling phase; once the well has been drilled, it must be completed in order to produce oil. The well completion process includes procedures such as casing, cementing, perforation, and hydraulic fracturing. Some oil wells are completed shortly after drilling is finished, but some oil wells are not completed for months or even years after drilling is completed. Crude oil drilling and completion processes involve different technologies, equipment, personnel, and contracts. Drilling is carried out through multi-year contracts between producers and drilling contractors. During drilling, in order to maximize the number of wells drilled and reduce the idle transfer time between sites, wells are drilled sequentially using one or multiple drilling rigs. Completion involves finishing multiple wells simultaneously through short-term contracts similar to batch processing. After drilling is completed, producers do not necessarily finish work on the wells immediately; in order to schedule completion times properly, they maintain a certain number of wells in reserve to ensure flexibility. When oil prices are low, producers delay completion for economic reasons, resulting in an increase in the number of wells in inventory. 2. Falling oil prices lead to a decline in completion efficiency. Between June 2014 and February 2016, WTI crude oil prices dropped from over $107 to below $27; as a result, the number of completions in North Dakota decreased while the number of wells in storage increased. During this period, the completion time for drilling increased from about 3 months to 1 year, but the average drilling time for new oil wells remains less than two months. Between 2014 and 2017, drilling in North Dakota was largely delayed in terms of completion, resulting in high levels of wells in stock; 842 of these wells took more than a year to be completed. Since crude oil prices started to rise in the second half of 2016, most wells (84%) have been completed and put into operation, with only 135 wells remaining in the DUC status. As of the end of June 2019, there were still 7 oil wells in the DUC status, and they had been in that state for over 5 years. 3. The production of shale oil wells drops by half in the first six months. Additionally, the rate of decline in shale oil well production is particularly fast; the production peak is usually reached in the second month after extraction, after which it continues to decline. Within six months, the production is half of its peak value, and after two years, such wells essentially lose their economic viability. The length of time from drilling to completion ultimately has almost no impact on its initial production. 4. Bakken oil wells have the highest efficiency and great oil production potential. In 2017, the new wells in the Bakken region had the highest output per well, with EagelFord coming next; both exceeded 600 barrels per day, while the Permian region’s output was around 500 barrels per day. By September 2019, the output per new well in the Bakken region had risen to 1,455 barrels per day, keeping it at the top among the seven major shale oil production regions in the United States, with EagelFord and the Permian region producing 1,363 and 772 barrels per day respectively. Due to the high oil production efficiency in the Bakken region, the output per well there has been increasing rapidly since 2018. Today, Bakken is the second-largest shale oil production area in the United States. This region spans two states in northern America: North Dakota and Montana, with the majority of it located in North Dakota. As a result, North Dakota has become the third-largest crude oil production state in the country, after Texas and the Gulf of Mexico. There is still great potential for further growth in shale oil production in this area.