Pressured by plunging oil prices and the need to adjust to the lower oil demand, U.S. oil producers have slashed costs and managed to bring down their average breakeven costs by nearly 20 percent to $45 a barrel on average, Bloomberg’s research service, BloombergNEF (BNEF), said on Thursday. According to BloombergNEF’s estimates, U.S. oil producers have cut their average breakeven costs from an average of $56.50 per barrel last year to $45 a barrel now. Some of the most prolific areas in the U.S. shale patch, such as the core of the Permian and Eagle Ford basins, have even seen breakeven costs dropping to an average of $36.50 per barrel now, from $44 a barrel last year. All companies, from the smallest driller to the largest corporations, have reduced capital spending this year in response to the collapse in oil prices, and they will continue to show spending discipline […]