Cracks in the US shale recovery?
Oil bulls shouldn't get too excited about those capex cuts yet
Halliburton's chairman Dave Lesar set oil markets on edge this week with remarks suggesting that the shale industry was "tapping the brakes" as crude prices persistently hover around $50 per barrel ($/b). To oil bulls and Opec ministers looking for cracks in the shale recovery, it was the first good news to come out of the tight oil patch in a long time. Subsequent announcements this week—from major shale operators Anadarko, Hess and Whiting Petroleum—that they are cutting their 2017 budgets provided more grist for the mill. Anadarko cut $300m from its budget (roughly 7%) while Hess trimmed $100m from its spending plans. Further news of budget cuts could come over the next couple of weeks as
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