Rising US crude output suggests Opec may have lost its battle with shale
Total US crude production rises by more than 550,000 barrels a day in the 20 weeks since Opec decided to cut output, US Department of Energy data show
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IT WAS all so simple. By lifting restraints on output, Saudi Arabia would stop subsidising high-cost oil producers and halt the rapid rise in US production that was eating into the market share of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec). At least, that was the logic back in November 2014.
But things haven't gone according to plan. Opec's four-month experiment with production curbs has failed. More worryingly, the strength of shale's rebound suggests that Opec faces a long-term struggle against this new source of supply in an industry where technological advances are the norm and today's niche play becomes the next decade's global standard.
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