The Oil Price Crash Has Taught U.S. Shale A Valuable Lesson

The massive oil price correction in November 2021, which turned out to be the worst month for crude since March 2020, came just as U.S. oil producers were drafting their capital budget plans for 2022.  The plunge in prices, which sent WTI Crude from over $80 in early November to $67 in early December, is not so devastating to the U.S. shale patch as it would have been two years ago when producers were drilling at a record pace and were investing most of the cash flows—and even beyond that—into new wells.    The current…