Scorecard Shows Hits, Misses For US Shale Players
That’s according to Bob Brackett, a senior analyst for Bernstein Research. Speaking in front of a standing-room-only crowd on opening day of the Unconventional Resources Technology Conference on July 23, Brackett gave the industry marks on a scorecard during an era dubbed the “Fracocene,” described as a time when oil and gas production in North America—characterized by long-lateral horizontal wells with massive hydraulic fractures—is strongly influencing the world’s energy economy.
“Growth is an A-plus. There is no asset on the planet growing oil faster. The U.S. is growing oil liquids year-over-year at a rate of 2 million barrels per day,” he said before handing out a grade of C-plus for discipline, which he said may be returning. Earlier he pointed out how the industry has emerged from a period of overinvestment. “We have behaved for the last six quarters. … This is a sector that lives within cash flow, gives some cash back to investors, earns a double-digit rate of return.”