Big Oil hits the brakes on shale spending thumbnail With oil prices in free fall, the fear is that hunting for new shale in the U.S. may just not be that profitable. ConocoPhillips( COP ) became the first major U.S. oil company on Monday to reveal that it is slashing spending for 2015. There are expectations that more energy companies will follow . Oil prices have dropped 40% since June. And OPEC’s bombshell decision in November not to scale back on production has sent prices even lower. It was also widely seen as an attempt by the oil cartel to choke off the U.S. shale boom. Lower oil prices is great news for consumers globally, but it’s causing immense turmoil in the energy industry. Some countries like Iran and Venezuela as well as higher-cost producers in North America need higher prices to generate a profit. “I think you will […]