Shale Oil’s Good, But It’s Not Here to Stay, Says the IEA
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U.S. shale may be the darling of the oil industry right now, but the boom isn’t going to last, according to the International Energy Agency.
The richest areas will have been exploited by the mid-2020s, meaning the average well drilled in 2025 will be less productive than today, the agency said in its annual World Energy Outlook. The U.S. will still be pumping large quantities of crude from shale rock -- also known as tight oil -- but output will taper off because a larger number of wells are needed to be completed to maintain or increase production.