Is The Shale Slowdown Overblown?
The shale industry has hit a bit of a rough patch, with pipeline bottlenecks, cost inflation and a crowded field contributing to a drilling and production slowdown. But many in the industry are confident that the lull will be temporary.
There are several strategies that shale companies are starting to pursue, such as pivoting to other shale plays, curtailing drilling activity, or drilling wells but deferring completions. According to Halliburton’s CEO Jeff Miller, as reported by Argus Media, these strategies are actually relieving a bit of pressure on the Permian basin and the cost inflation that has come with the concentration of drilling and the associated bottlenecks.
As the Permian runs into trouble, shale companies are pivoting to the Eagle Ford, the Bakken, the Niobrara and even Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, according to comments from executives at a recent conference hosted by Barclays.
In fact, a flurry of research reports from top investment banks recently also back up the notion that the shale industry will continue to press forward, despite significant headwinds. In June, the latest month for which solid production data is available, the EIA said that U.S. output rose by 230,000 bpd, and about 165,000 bpd of that total came from Texas – evidence that the Permian has not been suffering from a slowdown, at least as of June.
Goldman Sachs says that the growth will continue, and the bank pointed to the fact that the shale industry has increased spending over the course of this year, above original guidance. “[W]e maintain our outlook for 1.3 mn bpd of US oil production growth in 2018, though with producers increasing FY18 budgets by ~7% in aggregate, there could be potential for upside to our 1.1 mn bpd growth estimate in 2019 as capital spend in 2H18 translates into higher growth into 2019,” Goldman analysts wrote in a note earlier this month. “The impact of these capex increases plus Permian bottlenecks in 2019 are likely to be key.”
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