Drillers holding fire
Unless oil prices surge, drilling activity will remain subdued next year. Any increase will breed cost inflation
The exploration and production sector begins 2018 after relative calm in 2017. The resolve of Opec has been matched by the resilience of American shale, leaving oil prices within a band of $40-60 a barrel. The lower end of this band is uncomfortable but survivable. The higher end isn't quite enough to stimulate a leap in capital investment. American tight oil output increased in 2017, but investors are showing signs of fatigue—the industry continues to need external funding and average equity values have lagged the oil price by 20 percentage points since 2014. So in 2018, shale producers may at last start focussing on generating cash over growing production. There are signs that technology i
Also in this section
24 June 2025
The country’s latest licensing round attracted bids from IOCs and NOCs in a better showing than its last outreach to bidders
24 June 2025
Africa’s second-largest oil producer is creating the right conditions for the sector to try to boost output, explains Ian Cloke, COO of UK-based Afentra
24 June 2025
The takeover, if it gets the all-clear from regulators and other government authorities, would propel XRG and its parent firm ADNOC into the top tier of global LNG players
23 June 2025
Jet fuel will play crucial role in oil consumption growth even with efficiency gains and environmental curbs, with geopolitical risks highlighting importance of plentiful stocks
