Drillers have focused on completing DUCs during the last couple of months Completion of DUCs has largely helped the record cash flows of the shale patch this year Shale drillers will have to boost capex to sustain drilling activity in 2022 The U.S. shale patch has returned to a moderate increase in drilling activity, having largely depleted the inventory of drilled by uncompleted (DUC) wells at the fastest clip in history so far this year. Completion of already drilled wells costs much less than drilling a new well, so U.S. operators have resorted to the backlog of DUCs since the third quarter of last year, as they largely promised that emerging from the pandemic-driven bust, they would keep spending discipline and look to reward shareholders first with the growing cash flows. Going through the DUC inventory over the past few months—instead of spending more money on drilling—has paid off. […]