Opec ministers, US shale executives share uneasy truce over an unlikely meal

Houston

AROUND the room at Houston's The Grove restaurant on Monday, at several tables, sat a group of shale executives, interspersed with energy ministers and officials representing Opec members, where they dined on fish and steak. They should have had a lot to discuss amid the fervour of CERAWeek, the most notable US energy event of the year.

But what could have been two of the biggest topics of conversation - oil prices and Opec output levels - were not in the cards, as such a broad conversation would run afoul of US antitrust rules against price-fixing. "It was quite a congenial group of people. We had a really wonderful conversation," said Tim Dove, CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources Co. He noted that Mohammed Barkindo, Opec's secretary-general, gave a speech, and "his main message was that they believe very strongly that demand is going to be significant ahead in terms of growth".