Oil's Recovery Inches Higher as 'Fracklog' Awaits Price Trigger
- Drilled, uncompleted wells could return 500,000 b/d to market
- WTI prices have gained more than 60 percent since February
The Long- and Short-Term Challenges Facing Oil Markets
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Oil’s rebound from the lowest in more than 12 years may face an abrupt halt as prices near a level that could trigger a wave of new U.S. shale production.
Futures in New York have advanced more than 60 percent since the February low and closed at $44.04 a barrel Tuesday, the highest in five months, nearing a $45-level IG Ltd. says makes some shale plays profitable. Drilled, uncompleted wells could return 500,000 barrels a day back to the market, according to Richard Westerdale, a director at the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources. The inventory of wells is known as the fracklog.