Energy Daily

Higher Oil Prices Pose a Dilemma for US Shale

Trump wants producers to unleash output, but many remember the ill-fated dash for growth more than a decade ago.
Liberty Lift Solutions LLC pumpjacks near Crane, Texas.Photographer: Bloomberg
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Welcome to our guide to the commodities driving the global economy. Today, energy reporter David Wethe looks at the path ahead for US shale drillers as oil trades 30% above prewar levels.

The casual observer might be forgiven for thinking current crude prices are an unalloyed positive for the US oil industry. But the view from Midland, Texas — the center of the shale sector — is rather more nuanced than that.