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Short term thinking goes nowhere. Sure, fossil fuels are cheap right now, but it'll bounce back later. One shouldn't make any long term decisions based on tempo
by vardump 7y ago
Short term thinking goes nowhere. Sure, fossil fuels are cheap right now, but it'll bounce back later. One shouldn't make any long term decisions based on temporary market conditions.
Little has changed in the big picture that would not have changed anyways. Shale plays are not cash cows; shale wells have short production span, but are expensive and risky to develop.
Renewables are increasingly the real economic option; they make sense regardless of factors like politics and beliefs.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- matthewdgreen 7y agoMy understanding is that there’s a lot of debt underpinning some of the new operation. Is it possible that even a “temporary” price reduction could cause a wave of deeper financial problems that make continued investment less likely out in the future?
- vardump 7y ago> ...debt underpinning some of the new operation... Also older. Those companies are not equal, though, the ones with the best geologists can still make ok profits with a bit of luck. > ... price reduction could cause a wave of deeper financial problems Of course, and shale oil hasn't been a money maker in general below $40-120, depending on geology. I guess most of it makes money at $60. Some wells might be profitable even slightly below $40. Then again, cash flow is king. Very low prices aside, like right now, at a certain point it makes more sense to produce oil below profitability just to keep the cash flowing.