Shale Producers Say Bring it On in Oil Price Showdown
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OPEC’s price war against the American shale industry will erode drilling budgets, shrink profits and even bankrupt some companies. It won’t do the one thing cartel leader Saudi Arabia wants: reduce U.S. production.
In the three geologic formations that account for 88 percent of U.S. shale oil output -- North Dakota’s Bakken and the Eagle Ford and Permian in Texas -- explorers can drill new wells profitably in some areas even if crude falls to $25 a barrel, according to a team of analysts led by Manuj Nikhanj at ITG Investment Research Inc. That’s less than half yesterday’s $67.38 closing price for U.S. crude.