HOUSTON, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- The slump in crude oil prices hasn't yet resulted in a slowdown in production from shale basins in the United States, analysis finds.
Crude oil prices have fallen to the point that some major companies have trimmed their investment forecasts. It's more expensive to drill into shale basins in the United States than elsewhere in the world and the price may be approaching a point where explorers need to cut back.
"While current lower crude oil prices do present challenges for new investment, IHS analysis shows that the vast majority of potential U.S. supply growth in 2015 remain economical at $70 for West Texas Intermediate [the U.S. benchmark price]," Jim Burkhard, vice president at IHS Energy, said in a Thursday statement sent to UPI.
Data this week from the U.S. Energy Information Administration show oil production for the week ending Friday at 9 million barrels per day, a 13 percent increase from the same week in 2013.
WTI futures contracts show a price just above the $77 per barrel mark through 2015. IHS finds U.S. oil production from shale increases next year by around 700,000 bpd in that price scenario. That would be slower than growth this year, but still significant in relative terms.
A separate report from Platts finds oil production from the premier shale basins in the United States increased by about 4.5 percent in October, the last full month for which it has data.
"We believe that it would take prolonged and sustained downward price pressure to have an impact on drilling rates and production figures in 2015," analysis director Jack Weixel said in an e-mailed statement.
IHS said the break-even price for U.S. shale operations is in the range of $50 to $69 for WTI.
