Usually, shale wells reach peak production within their first few months, but drillers have found ways to level out the drop off. According to Reuters, lifting and choking are two strategies being used while commodity prices remain low.

Producers will reinvigorate older wells instead of fracking new wells by artificial lift. This involves injecting chemicals or gas into perforations or the use of an electrically-driven pumping system. Artificial lift is one way to inexpensively maximize production, the source reports.

Choking is the process by which producers limit initial well production, which boosts output over the life of the well instead of having the bulk of production occur initially.

Read more: Reuters > Forget fracking. Choking, lifting latest efforts to stem U.S. shale bust