Outlook Live: Trouble brews for US shale
Global energy demand will recover as the pandemic recedes, but production in the Lower 48 may already have reached its apogee
US onshore shale may have already hit peak production and could struggle to ever match pre-pandemic growth levels, according to a panel of experts on a PE Live webcast late last week. “I think the expectation is that US onshore production will remain flat, perhaps grow slightly, and that is mainly a function of access to capital and what investors want,” says Bobby Tudor, chairman at US bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Over the past year, the EIA recorded a 1.43mn bl/d plunge in Lower 48 oil production—at its worst sinking to 8mn bl/d—as the pandemic triggered demand destruction and sunk global commodity prices. Since the worst of the economic lockdown ended in May, US production has gr
Also in this section
9 January 2026
OPEC+ remains on track as output falls, with only Gabon failing to hit its output targets in December, although Kazakhstan’s compliance was involuntary
9 January 2026
The Latin American producer’s crude prospects rely on a multi-pronged approach where even the relatively easy wins will take considerable time, effort and cost
9 January 2026
While many forecasters are reasserting the importance of oil and gas, petrostates should be under no illusion things are changing, and faster than they might think
8 January 2026
Indonesia and Malaysia are at the dawn of breathtaking digital capabilities. Their energy infrastructure must keep up with their ambitions
