In search of higher prices, shale oil producers have reined in upstream capex over the last couple of years. Before 2019 they were focused on ever-increasing incremental production growth, and often bragged about their year over year Compound Annual Growth Rate-CAGR, in investor publications. No more. The oil price crash of 2020, having led to near bankruptcy scenarios for some of them, has initiated a much more austere mindset in the boardrooms of many companies. Many are heavily laden with legacy debt from those free-wheeling days of…not…
