U.S. oil production continues to grow, with the EIA reporting a shocking jump in output last week. Total U.S. production rose to 9.5 million barrels per day (mb/d) for the week ending on August 11, up 79,000 bpd from a week earlier. That puts U.S. output at the highest level in nearly two and a half years. The U.S. shale industry has been adding new supply pretty much uninterrupted since late last year, despite volatile swings in oil prices over the course of 2017. In fact, the gains continued even through the price downturn in June, which saw WTI flirt with the $40 per barrel threshold, which, at first glance, suggests that the shale industry is doing just fine. To be sure, some shale drillers have breakeven prices well below the prevailing market price, allowing them to make money even during those tough times. But in the aggregate, the […]