Promising future for US shale
The tide is turning, slowly, for America’s beleaguered shale industry
The modest oil-price recovery has brought a shift in perspective in America's tight oil industry. The doom and gloom from early 2016 has given way to a cautious optimism that, for shale drillers, the worst is over. Rigs that were laid up for months due to a lack of work are slowly being fired up again. Output from the major shale plays is down a whopping 0.7m barrels a day, or 15%, from the peak in March 2015, to 3.93m b/d. But it is likely at or near the bottom, barring another steep drop in crude prices. As recently as May, every day brought news of a new bankruptcy. And yet the sector has backed away from the brink after five straight months of $40-plus crude prices. After cutting budgets
Also in this section
10 May 2024
The US’ contentious LNG permitting pause has prompted criticism from CEOs and wildly differing interpretations from politicians
9 May 2024
Pipeline boosts Canada’s oil industry by widening its export options, making it less reliant on US market and bringing Asia into the mix
8 May 2024
Despite Australia’s first import terminal nearing completion, the prospect of additional regasification projects is far from certain