Hydraulic fracturing has greatly benefited the U.S. oil and gas sector, particularly within shale formations. In less than 20 years, the technology enabled the country to transition from a net importer to a net exporter of oil.

Source: Chevron

Until recently, major oil producer Chevron could hydraulically fracture one well at a time. New advances offer the opportunity to frac three wells at once, allowing the operator to complete 25% of its Permian Basin wells in this manner during 2024. The process is now being deployed on nearly half of its wells in the region and is expected to lower completion times by 25% and reduce costs per well by 12% compared with hydraulically fracturing two wells at once.

Hydraulic fracturing involves drilling wells and injecting sand and water into them to fracture rock and extract oil and gas, rendering previously uncommercial fossil fuel deposits held in shale rock profitable. Triple-fracking requires the same amounts of sand and water as fracking one well at a time but uses them more quickly. This implies that Chevron needs 60% more water and sand per day when using the technique.