Promising future for US shale
The tide is turning, slowly, for America’s beleaguered shale industry
The modest oil-price recovery has brought a shift in perspective in America's tight oil industry. The doom and gloom from early 2016 has given way to a cautious optimism that, for shale drillers, the worst is over. Rigs that were laid up for months due to a lack of work are slowly being fired up again. Output from the major shale plays is down a whopping 0.7m barrels a day, or 15%, from the peak in March 2015, to 3.93m b/d. But it is likely at or near the bottom, barring another steep drop in crude prices. As recently as May, every day brought news of a new bankruptcy. And yet the sector has backed away from the brink after five straight months of $40-plus crude prices. After cutting budgets
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
