The administration’s iconic ‘drill, baby, drill’ slogan has been wishful thinking this year as U.S. benchmark crude prices, WTI, have lingered in the low to mid-$60s per barrel for months, about 13% below year-ago levels. The additional supply from the OPEC+ group and the Trump Administration’s inconsistent tariff and trade policies have reduced investors and speculators’ confidence that oil prices could stage a rebound soon.
Shale oil producers added a single drill rig this week after 14 consecutive weeks of declines, staving off at least for now a pandemic-level downturn in U.S. activity.
Activity is slowing in U.S. oil fields as drillers remain in the crude-price danger zone for profits, according to one of the biggest investors of private operators in the shale patch.
U.S. shale oil producers are unlikely to heed President Donald Trump’s latest call to “Drill, Baby, Drill” as they prioritize hedging over ramping up production in response to U.S. military strikes on Iran.
Despite multi-layered international sanctions on Russia following its 24 February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin’s ‘special energy project’ – developing the country’s massive gas and oil resources in the Arctic – took a major step forward last week as it was confirmed that the flagship Arctic LNG 2 will begin operations before the end of this year.
The U.S. shale patch, which accounts for most of the non-OPEC+ oil supply growth, is set to deliver stronger-than-anticipated production gains this year.
Drilling activity in the U.S. shale patch is about to rebound later this year and next year as oil prices have strengthened recently, American oilfield services firms said this week.
During CERA Week, top executives from some of the biggest U.S. shale companies discussed global oil supply with top OPEC officials.