Shale Oil

Vaca Muerta shale is significantly impacting Argentina's energy landscape and economic prospects.

The US Energy Information Administration projected a decline in US shale-oil output from 9.435MM b/d in Aug. to 9.415MM b/d in Sept.

The South American major producer’s oil and gas sector is primed for robust investments, projected to exceed $10.7B in 2023—a significant 18% surge from last year.

Explosive growth of shale production in the past decades has reshaped U.S. energy security, countering fears of scarcity.

Output growth in the US shale patch is set to be the slowest in six months, attributed to lower oil and gas prices and rising costs.

The U.S. is on track to achieve a new annual oil production record, currently producing 12.4MM b/d, thanks to the growth in tight oil and shale gas regions.

In 4Q 2022, the shale industry is estimated to have allocated 42% of its generated cash towards capital expenditures, 22% towards dividends, and 21% towards share repurchases and paying down debt.

Even though the EU has been taking in the majority of US crude exports this year, its long-term dependence on US crude imports has been threatened by weakening prospects for US shale industry with industry figures reporting that the sector can no longer serve as a swing producer, which was a sentiment shared by Bryan Sheffield, the former Head of Parsley Energy.

Amid calls to raise output to lower fuel prices, the US shale industry has been facing pressure from rising operating costs and maturing fields.

The Biden administration has garnered criticism for using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to push down oil prices and not incentivizing production to boost supply instead.