Shale Drilling Set for 20% Drop at Current Prices, Quantum Says

The US shale patch may lose as much as 20% of its activity over the next year if energy prices hold at current levels, according to one of the biggest private equity players in the industry.

Crude would need to rise by about 15% to $80 a barrel, and gas would have to climb by more than a third to $3 per million British thermal units for drilling and frack work to maintain its current pace, Quantum Energy PartnersChief Executive Officer Wil VanLoh said in an interview Tuesday. Oil and natural gas prices have slid since mid-2022 on fears ...