Shale Drilling by Private Cos. Recovers to Pre-COVID Levels

What's taking the shale oil industry so long to restart drilling in a big way? Shale oil production remains some 1.4 million barrels per day (15%) below pre-COVID pandemic levels despite oil prices reaching near three-year highs of $77 per barrel since the start of this year. When you dig into the numbers it becomes apparent what's happening. A lot of shale drilling is now done by big, integrated major oil companies--the Exxons and Chevrons and BPs of the world. Shale production from the majors is 68% below pre-pandemic levels. If you look at the output of smaller independent, non-publicly traded oil drillers, their production is only 2% below pre-pandemic levels.

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