Aim for profitability rather than growth.
This is the new challenge for American shale oil producers, who have come a long way.
Last year, the pandemic crippled global activity and melted demand for crude.
Saudi Arabia, upset at not being able to support prices, has embarked on a price war with Russia which has plunged prices.
The US benchmark WTI, which started 2020 at nearly $ 64 a barrel, even found itself in negative territory in April.
Never seen!
Accumulation of bankruptcies
However, extracting oil from shale is much more expensive than pumping black gold from Arab sands or Russian deposits.
Above all, when the price of a barrel collapses, it costs less to stop production than to continue it, unlike offshore drilling.
In addition, a shale oil well depletes most of its potential very quickly, generally in less than a year, which forces its operator to dig another and then another to
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