Recovery in oil prices following an OPEC agreement to trim production should help stimulate oil activity in shale plays in the United States, analysis finds. Crude oil prices ended November around $47 per barrel, but have since recovered to the low $50s because of a decision by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to trim about what the group expects in oil demand growth from production starting in January. Tom Ellacott, a corporate analyst for consultant group Wood Mackenzie , said oil prices are still low in relative terms and companies are struggling to adapt to the new era. A recovery in prices from below $30 per barrel in early 2016, however, means some reserve basins are more promising than others. “The hot oil plays are U.S. tight oil, with the Permian basin to the fore, and Brazil pre-salt,” he said in […]