The U.S. Shale Boom Is Slowing Down
- Permian Basin unchanged after three weeks of additions
- Shale rigs pulled back as U.S., OPEC production rises
Workers connect drill bits and drill collars, used to extract natural petroleum, on a drilling rig in the Permian basin outside of Midland, Texas, on Dec. 12, 2014.
Photographer: Brittany Sowacke/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Oil explorers reduced rigs drilling in U.S. oilfields this week, fueling optimism that a shale slowdown and OPEC production cuts will be enough to deflate a glut and strengthen crude prices.
Working rigs targeting crude fell by 1, bringing the total to 765, according to Baker Hughes data reported Friday. Producers ended 23 straight weeks of additions with a pullback at the end of June, breaking the longest stretch of continuous growth in three decades. Even so, more than twice as many rigs are drilling for oil now than in May 2016, when the count hit a low point of 316.