The introduction of horizontal drilling has revitalized interest in the Wolfcamp and introduced the Bone Spring as the money-making formation of the Delaware Basin.  It is a thick package of alternating sands, shales, and carbonate intervals. 

Horizontal development unleashed an enormous amount of production from the basin, growing it from about 80 Mbbl/d at the beginning of 2010 to over 2.1 MMbbl/d a decade later. While the basin has shown great potential in terms of resource and economics, the basin’s structural varied lithological complexities have led to a wide disparity in results across the play, much of which is driven by parent-child well interactions both within and across landing zones.
 

Decreasing horizontal and vertical spacing between parent and child wells coupled with cemented carbonates in the subsurface are leading companies to investigate interwell pressure communication across zones in order to mitigate the economic impact of hydraulic fracturing on producing wells (frac hits).

The oil rich deposits of the Bone Spring Formation are primarily targeted in New Mexico's Eddy and Lea Counties.  Because this region is comprised of Federal lands, the 2021 ban on new drilling will enable producers to continue drilling for wells permitted before the ban.  The ban is not expected to impact overall drilling activity in the Delaware Basin.