Shale energy industry is a highly competitive industry

Statoil Bakken shale production breakeven point of near $ 60 a barrel, which is approximately the company's portfolio of projects throughout the world average. This means that oil prices also need to drop a large extent,shale gas will let Bakken shale production became unprofitable.

However, if oil prices have more than enough, shale oil production could respond quickly. In the "traditional" and even large-scale offshore oil project, the vast majority of costs are pre-spending: spending to find oil and deployment of mining facilities. Once this is done, the marginal cost of a barrel of oil is quite low.

In the onshore shale oil project,frac sand companies the cost of drilling a well is much lower (possibly $ 10 million, while the cost of a well deepwater offshore projects as $ 100 million), but the rate of decline in production is also much faster, so needs through continuous drilling to maintain production.

If for whatever reason the world economy back into recession, causing oil prices really started to fall significantly, the U.S. economy of shale oil production will be tested.

With the gradual expansion of shale oil industry, it began to get involved in more challenging storage. For example, in North Dakota, mining increasingly concentrated in Sri Fox reservoir (Three Forks formation), which overlaps with the Bakken shale, but the location is deeper.

On the other hand,ceramic ball shale oil operators are also learning more mining methods, while also improving efficiency. Bakken Shale another large manufacturer, American Independent Petroleum Group Hess (Hess) said it has drilled a well in the local cost from $ 13.4 million a year ago fell in the first quarter of $ 8.6 million. Similarly, Continental Resources Inc. to drill a well last year, the average cost is $ 9.2 million, down $ 8.2 million currently intend.

Improve efficiency in response to the deteriorating geological conditions of competition, Horace said he was "quite optimistic that" manufacturers will catch up to the next decade,Ceramic proppant the breakeven price would come down.

He said: "This is a vibrant and competitive industry. Everyone is trying to progress in learning from each other."