At the start of March, we showed a fascinating chart from Rystad Energy, demonstrating how dramatic the impact of technological efficiency on collapsing U.S. shale production costs has been: in just the past 3 years, the wellhead breakeven price for key shale plays has collapsed from an average of $80 to the mid-$30s… (Click to enlarge) … resulting in drastically lower all-in breakevens for most U.S. shale regions. (Click to enlarge) Today, in a note released by Goldman titled “OPEC: To cut or not to cut, that is the question”, the firm presents a chart which shows exactly how OPEC lost the war against U.S. shale. The cost curve has massively flattened and extended as a result of “shale productivity,” driving oil breakeven in the U.S. from $80 to $50-$55, in the process sweeping Saudi Arabia away from the post of global oil price setter to a mere inventory […]