(WO) — Permian basin operators are increasingly turning to longer horizontal wells and super-laterals exceeding 15,000 ft to boost oil and natural gas production while limiting well counts and overhead costs, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Super-lateral wells, which extend more than 15,000 ft—or nearly three miles—accounted for 15% of new Permian well completions in 2025, the EIA reported. The well design was virtually nonexistent in the basin before 2020.
The shift comes as Permian hydrocarbon production has increased sharply despite relatively stable levels of new drilling. Combined oil and natural gas production climbed from 2.9 MMboed in 2015 to 11.2 MMboed in 2025, representing a 284% increase over the decade.
Longer laterals allow operators to contact more reservoir rock with each well, increasing productive exposure while reducing the number of individual wells needed to develop acreage.
The average lateral length of a newly completed horizontal Permian well increased 77% over the past decade, from 6,149 ft in 2015 to 10,867 ft in 2025, according to Enverus data cited by the EIA.
The change has largely displaced shorter horizontal wells. Wells with laterals shorter than 5,000 ft represented 43% of Permian completions in 2015 but just 4% in 2025.
Mid-length laterals of 5,000 ft to 15,000 ft increased from 57% of completions in 2015 to a peak of 90% in 2021. Their share subsequently declined to 81% in 2025 as operators increasingly adopted super-lateral designs.
At the same time, operators have maintained relatively consistent completion activity. Excluding the market disruptions of 2020 and 2021, when the Covid-19 pandemic and negative oil prices sharply curtailed activity, new horizontal well completions have remained near 6,000 per year since 2022.
The combination underscores the role of drilling and completion efficiency in sustaining Permian growth as operators seek to extract more hydrocarbons from each well rather than relying primarily on higher drilling activity.
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