International shale fades in low price era

The oil market downturn along with regulatory obstacles have scuppered investor plans for international shale

For international oil companies riding high on $100/barrel oil and looking to new frontiers for growth, shale outside the US and Canada was a promising bet. But the oil market downturn, investor-enforced austerity and regulatory obstacles have scuppered most of those plans and most are beating a fast retreat, delaying for years the prospect of shale production outside North America.  Even before the oil price decline there had been few successes elsewhere in the world. The international majors were slow to react to the rise of shale in the US and seemed determined not to repeat the mistake elsewhere, so they bought into shale projects from Poland to China to Argentina and beyond. But test we