Shale explorers are in for higher equipment and service costs in 2019 after getting hit with double-digit inflation this year, according to Wood Mackenzie Ltd.
The rate of well-cost increases -- which includes everything from cement to drilling rigs -- is expected to average 9 percent across the contiguous 48 American states next year, down from 13 percent in 2018, according to a report released this week by Wood Mackenzie and Power Advocate, a supply-chain analytics company. But costs would need to surge about 30 percent to really cut into profits.
