A historic crash in crude prices is driving U.S. shale into full-on retreat with operators halting new drilling and shutting in old wells, moves that could cut output by 20% for the world's biggest producer of oil.
For shale companies, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude went from hunker-down-and-ride-it-out mode to crisis mode in just a few days, with many now unsure whether there will even be a market for their oil. Some 1.75 million barrels a day is at immediate risk of shutting down while the number of new wells being brought online is forecast to plunge almost 90% by the end of the year, according to IHS Markit Ltd.
In short, it's a swift and brutal end to the shale revolution, which only last year had President Donald Trump proclaiming "American Energy Dominance."
West Texas Intermediate crude prices turned negative for the first time in history on Monday, meaning at one point sellers had to pay buyers to take it away. Then, the financial squeeze on the May contract spilled over to June and into the wider market, with prices now trading around $10 a barrel, well below the daily pumping cost in large swaths of America's oil industry.
Even at $15, "everything back in the field, except the newest and most productive wells, is losing money on a cash-cost basis," said Raoul LeBlanc, a Houston-based analyst at IHS Markit. "At this price you'll start shutting in large amounts of production."
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