Companies are dependent on outside capital, Art Berman says Opening the West Texas Geological Society’s annual fall symposium Wednesday, keynote speaker Art Berman threw a bucket of cold water on the red-hot Permian shale plays. More accurately, the geological consultant and well-known questioner of the nation’s shale plays attempted to put the Permian in perspective and highlight the long-term debt cycle. “This doesn’t in any way diminish the importance of the achievement,” Berman said after his presentation at the Horseshoe. “I know people are mindful of the past, but they tend to be exuberant.” The most important fact to remember is that, on balance, the Permian Basin shale plays are, in most cases, marginally profitable “because costs are very high and you have to balance the costs with the results,” he said. “These wells, these companies, these plays are totally dependent on outside capital.” If companies spend more than […]