If the Saudis wanted to crush America’s shale oil industry they are certainly doing a good job of it. West Texas Intermediate reached a 2014 peak of $107.73 in June before dropping as low as $49.77 today on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The grade settled at $50.04 a barrel. That’s below the break-even price for 37 of 38 U.S. shale oilfields , according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Shale oil fracking and Canadian tar sand is some of the most expensive (and dirty) oil production on the planet, while conventional Persian Gulf oil is the cheapest to produce. Warren Henry, the spokesman for Continental, one of the frackers who have been spending money faster than they can make it, says that current oil prices are “not a sustainable long-term trend.” However, Bob Tippee, Editor of Oil & Gas Journal, has a different take . “The Saudis have no […]