Welcome to AFE Leaks
Data-driven insights on U.S. shale development costs and strategy
Thanks for stopping by — and welcome to AFE Leaks, where we’re building the most detailed, interactive library of well cost benchmarking in the Lower 48 (and eventually, beyond).
I launched this platform to give operators, investors, and analysts real tools — the ability to explore cost structure by component, visualize variability across peers, and understand why certain wells cost more than others. For the last three months, I’ve been focused on building the data pipeline, designing the initial online application, and developing a new way to publish interactive, data-rich research that helps make sense of it all.
What to Expect
Going forward, I’ll be publishing:
Operator-by-operator benchmarking of drilling and completion costs
Research-backed reports that combine data-driven charts, maps, and real-world operator behavior
Tutorials on modeling, valuation, and coding — for professionals who want to do more with their data
All built around our cost dataset, which covers 80,000+ Lower 48 wells with everything from full AFE breakdowns and actuals to top-line capex — and growing fast.
If you’re an upstream analyst, investor, geologist, landman, procurement specialist or engineer — or just someone who wants to understand what’s really going on in shale — I think you’ll like it here.
About Me: I am an industry veteran with time as an upstream engineer, former Managing Director at a global financial services firm, and most recently, Head of Lower 48 Corporate Research at a leading energy consultancy.
I started AFE Leaks to build the kind of tools I always wished existed — faster, deeper, and more interactive. This is independent work, grounded in data and designed to help others take a sharper view of what’s happening beneath the surface.
What’s next?
While the app currently covers ~80,000 wells, the backend database goes deeper — including surveys, file links, completion details, and production for all wells across Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. I’ve built up a surprisingly large collection of PDF-scraped cost data, including subcomponent-level AFE and actuals across D&C phases, plus interpreted surveys for mapping and offset analysis. Expect us to do more with this dataset, but the full dataset will eventually become available via API.
Colorado and North Dakota are next on the roadmap as I build a larger sample of well costs (the well/production workflow is already in place).
Also in the works:
Supplier-level cost benchmarking
API access to the well and cost database for Premium subscribers
App improvements based on user feedback
And if there’s a topic you want me to dive into — whether it's completions optimization, asset valuations, or well-level benchmarking — shoot me a note. I love turning data into insight.
Cheers,
Faux