Shale drillers have successfully lowered their breakeven price over the past several years, but the industry is looking for more ways to cut costs. The oil majors are investing in new technologies that could continue to bring down costs, which will complicate OPEC’s efforts to realize higher prices. Reuters recently illustrated the quiet tech revolution underway in the shale patch, profiling a worker from Royal Dutch Shell who sat in a control room in Houston, helping guide multiple shale rigs at one time 500 miles away in the Permian basin. While smaller companies drove innovation in the shale patch years ago, the oil majors are now bringing their expertise to shale drilling, pouring money into shale as they trim spending on megaprojects around the world. Some of the innovations are being transferred from high-tech, highly automated offshore projects. The International Energy Agency recently published a report on the wave […]