U.S. shale changed global oil markets. It shook the foundations of OPEC as the one single swing producer group. And last year, it crumbled under the weight of the pandemic that sent oil prices to all-time lows, including a short dip of WTI below zero. Now, shale is getting back on its feet, facing the temptation of production as prices rebound above $50. Wood Mackenzie’s Vice Chair for the Americas, Ed Crooks, called it a siren song in a recent analysis . The shale boom happened because producers were chasing constant growth. It was this chase that catapulted the United States to the spot of the world’s largest oil producer, but it was also this chase that made the pandemic-caused slump in the shale patch quite spectacular. Until about a month ago, most of U.S. shale was unprofitable, so producers stayed put—and probably wondered how they were going to […]