Why U.S. Shale Production Remains Stubbornly High

I have written on shale production in the U.S. a number of times over the past couple of years for OilPrice. My expectation that shale production would fall sharply to ~5-6 mm BOEPD by the end of 2020, has not been borne out. My view was that a lack of drilling/completion activity due to adverse price conditions would cause production to fall sharply.

Historical annual decline rates for shale wells can be as high as 60% in the first year. In this article I discuss some of the reasons I feel this has occurred and what it may portend for oil supplies…