Shale drillers eye return to growth as oil price picks up
Companies are holding off until prices recover to $65 per barrel
As oil prices have recovered in recent weeks, oil market watchers have been trying to work out when US shale producers might start turning on the taps again. They got some answers this week. EOG Resource' chief executive Bill Thomas told analysts that his company was still waiting on the sidelines, drilling wells but leaving them uncompleted, until prices recovered. But he added that if WTI prices stabilised at around $65 per barrel (b), EOG could resume "strong double-digit growth.'" Whiting Petroleum's chief executive James Volker said that his company, which is a leading producer in the Bakken, would probably started adding rigs if the oil price rose to around $70/b. EOG and Whiting are a
Also in this section
16 April 2026
Demand for oil is falling because supply cannot meet it, not because it is no longer required
16 April 2026
The continent has an immediate opportunity to make the most of its energy resources by capturing gas that is currently slipping away
15 April 2026
The continent is seeing political pushback to climate plans, corporate reassessment of transition goals and rising supply risk in a fractured global order
15 April 2026
The Middle East energy crisis may turn out to be pivotal to the industry’s long-term expansion, but significant challenges still stand in its way
