Leaders in America’s oil industry are converging in Texas as the U.S. oil shale boom reaches new heights. The meeting of top energy executives comes amid the annual energy conference. Both the meeting itself and the state of America’s crude oil production were larger than previously expected.
The meeting of top oil executives in Texas has come amid a booming oil industry. The gathering produced a larger than usual crowd of executives, which seems appropriate as the industry has seen larger than usual growth. Oil has been doing poorly in recent years, as prices have remained very low. That all changed in 2018, when oil surged to $87 per barrel. Prices have stabilized again in part due to OPEC output cuts and in part due to sanctions on and economic conditions in Iran and Venezuela. The latter has seen production fall significantly in recent years, as many unpaid workers have walked off the job and taken their equipment with them.
The U.S., for its part, has had a much better experience with the recent changes in the global oil industry. The shale revolution has helped send U.S. crude outputs to record levels. American crude output has skyrocketed to over 12 million barrels per day, passing Russia and Saudi Arabia. Shale companies appear to be reducing drilling now, in an effort to please investors who want better returns. Regardless, the data received thus far points to a booming U.S. crude oil industry.
