The vast majority of shale oil in the United States is produced at costs far below the current price of crude, the head of the west’s energy watchdog said, which means U.S. projects can withstand the market slump squeezing other producers. Brent oil stands at around $88 per barrel, down more than 23 percent from the year’s peak above $115 in June, raising concern that some shale oil projects will become un-economic. However Maria van der Hoeven, executive director of the International Energy Agency said that only a tiny minority of shale oil production would be affected by the slump in prices to near-four-year lows. “Some 98 percent of crude oil and condensates from the United States have a breakeven price of below $80 and 82 percent had a breakeven price of $60 or lower,” she told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines […]