Even though the U.S. shale patch has further reduced its break-evens over the past year, the decline in drilling costs alone may not be sufficient to help producers to lift production after this year’s downturn, BloombergNEF (BNEF) said in a new report. Oil firms in America are currently under pressure from investors to turn in profits and return part of those profits to shareholders, prioritizing value for investors to volumes in production. 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 discipline in spending next year amid the uncertain recovery of oil demand and oil prices. In addition, the COVID-inflicted crisis accelerated bankruptcies across the U.S. shale patch, with more filings expected in the coming months. According to BNEF’s report, exploration and production companies operating in the lowest-cost […]