Shale drillers eye return to growth
As oil prices have recovered in recent weeks, oil market watchers have been trying to work out when US shale producers might start turning on the taps again
They got some answers this week. EOG Resources' chief executive Bill Thomas told analysts that his company was still waiting on the sidelines, drilling wells but leaving them uncompleted, until prices recovered. But he added that if WTI prices stabilised at around $65 per barrel (b), EOG could resume 'strong double-digit growth.' Whiting Petroleum's chief executive James Volker said that his company, which is a leading producer in the Bakken, would probably started adding rigs if the oil price rose to around $70/b. EOG and Whiting are among the strongest companies in the US shale patch so aren't necessarily a bellwether. Companies with weaker balance sheets or less attractive acreage may be

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