But before the new coronavirus sapped global demand for crude, causing shale-drilling companies to shut off wells en masse to avoid losing money, many were struggling to turn a profit , and investors had soured on the sector, restricting companies’ access to capital. While oil prices have rebounded in recent days and are above $33 a barrel, U.S. output is still poised to fall because companies aren’t drilling enough wells to make up for production declines from existing wells. Shale wells produce a lot of oil and gas early on, but quickly lose steam . Without investing in new wells, many companies’ output would decline by 30% to 50% in just a year, research firm Wood Mackenzie says. Shale-oil companies have sharply reduced their drilling budgets for the year, with the top 15 by market capitalization slashing spending by an average of 48%, a Wall Street Journal review of […]