Commodities
Sub-$60 Oil Would Undercut US Shale Production, Citigroup Says
Rig hands thread together drilling pipe at a hydraulic fracturing site.
Photographer: Ty Wright/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Amid President Donald Trump’s push for more domestic oil output and lower energy prices, Citigroup Inc. is warning that the prospect of weakening returns threatens to stifle drilling.
Shale operators probably would shut down 25 drilling rigs and hold US oil production flat if West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, hovers around $65 a barrel, Scott Gruber an analyst at Citigroup, wrote in a note to investors on Friday. Additional price drops would actually reduce crude production, he added.