I am tired of hearing about the unbelievable impact of technology on collapsing U.S. shale production costs. The truth is that these claims are unbelievable. The savings are real but only about 10 percent is from advances in technology. About 90 percent is because the oil industry is in a depression and oil field service companies have slashed prices to survive. Zero Hedge posted an article yesterday called How OPEC Lost The War Against Shale, In One Chart that featured the chart shown below from a Goldman Sachs note. (Click to enlarge) Figure 1. Short-cycle shale has engendered a structural deflationary cycle. Source: Zero Hedge and Labyrinth Consulting Services, Inc. Zero Hedge (and/or Goldman Sachs) erroneously states that “ the cost curve has massively flattened and extended as a result of shale productivity. ” If I read the chart correctly, the flat portion attributed to “shale” represents ~ 10 […]