MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Top US shale oil producers, which have been the driving force behind the United States doubling its oil output between 2009 and 2015, have announced their intention to cut production in 2016, according to last month’s media reports.
"I consider that only [US] fields with ongoing oil exploitation can be competitive at this level of prices [$60 per barrel] but new shale oil fields in areas such as deepwater or the Arctic cannot be developed at the price [level of] less than $60 —$70 per barrel," del Pino said at the oil and gas conference in Moscow.
Global oil prices plunged from $115 to less than $30 per barrel between June 2014 and January 2016, hitting their lowest levels since 2003 amid an ongoing glut in global oil supply. The prices have since recovered to around $40 per barrel for the Brent crude benchmark. Most estimates of the shale oil break-even price range between $30 and $50 per barrel.
