Oil traders and analysts searching for definitive signs of a pivotal bust in the U.S. shale boom are encountering the unexpected effects of El Niño, a seasonal weather phenomenon that has threatened to distort official production forecasts. This weather pattern has caused extreme conditions, including the warmest Alberta winter in 90 years and bursts of cold in Texas, affecting drillers in unusual ways. Most industry experts have already adjusted to the fact that the rise of the shale boom has created a new seasonality in oil markets, with harsh northern weather typically curtailing supply due to road closures or frozen fracking fluids. But this past winter has skewed that pattern thanks to the strongest El Niño conditions in nearly two decades, experts say. Many will turn their attention to U.S. government data, searching for clues […]