Permian production reached 11.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/d) in 2025, up 284% from 2.9 million BOE/d in 2015 — a surge driven not by more wells but by longer ones across the West Texas and southeastern New Mexico basin.

Super-lateral wells exceeding 15,000 feet — more than three miles of horizontal reach — accounted for 15% of all new Permian well completions in 2025, according to US Energy Information Administration analysis based on Enverus data. These ultra-long wells were virtually nonexistent before 2020.

How did the lateral mix shift?

The change in well geometry over a decade is stark. In 2015, short-reach wells measuring less than 5,000 feet made up 43% of completions in the Permian. By 2025, that share had collapsed to 4%.

Mid-length laterals — wells between 5,000 and 15,000 feet — followed a different trajectory:

• 57% of completions in 2015
• A peak of 90% in 2021
• 81% in 2025, ceding ground to super-laterals

The average lateral length of a new horizontal Permian well rose 77% over the decade, from 6,149 feet in 2015 to 10,867 feet in 2025, based on Enverus data.

Why longer laterals matter

Longer laterals let operators contact significantly more reservoir rock with each well, maximizing production while keeping well counts — and therefore overhead costs — down. The Permian, one of the most prolific unconventional oil and natural gas producing regions in the world, has effectively traded well count for well productivity.

The completion data bear that out. Excluding the unprecedented market disruptions of 2020 and 2021, when negative oil prices and COVID-19 pandemic uncertainty curtailed activity, new horizontal well completions in the Permian have hovered around 6,000 per year since 2022.

That steady completion pace, paired with rapid production growth, points to efficiency gains per well rather than a drilling ramp. The EIA notes that while the number of new wells drilled has remained relatively stable, regional hydrocarbon output has grown sharply over the past decade.

What is the watch item?

The share of super-laterals is the number to track. At 15% of completions in 2025 and climbing from essentially zero five years earlier, the 15,000-foot-plus class is displacing mid-length laterals — the 90% peak of 2021 has already eroded to 81%. Sustained growth in super-lateral share would signal continued productivity gains per well and further downward pressure on per-unit development costs across the basin's oil and gas windows.