Shale: Sorry Monte Python, I’m not dead yet

Douglas N. Valleau, President, Strategia Innovation and Technology Advisors, LLC; 

Senior V.P., Business Development, Piri Technologies LLC; and Chairman, World Oil Editorial Advisory Board 

Shale isn’t finished.  It’s just getting started. Critics claim the “shale revolution” has peaked, pointing to exhausted sweet spots, tighter budgets, lower oil prices, infrastructure constraints, and climbing steel, equipment, and labor costs.  But this paints only half the picture. As top-tier acreage is drilled, operators are moving to second-tier acreage and sharpening their focus on efficiency and innovation. They’re slashing break-even costs, deploying next-generation drilling techniques, and turning previously overlooked formations into new revenue streams. Far from limping to the finish line, shale’s story is entering its most exciting chapter yet, one driven by grit, creativity, and the relentless drive to rewrite the rules of production.  Let’s examine why shale is not dead yet. 

Where are we today? According to the EIA, more than 80% of producing wells in the U.S. are completed horizontally. Tight oil accounts for about 84% of total U.S. crude oil production, contributing roughly 11.4 MMbpd out of a total 13.5 MMbpd. Similarly, shale gas dominates U.S. dry natural gas production, making up about 97%, with output reaching 111 Bcfd out of 114 Bcfd.

Fig. 1. Comparison of unconventional production from 2005 to 2025, with rig count and oil price. Production continues to rise despite rig count dropping. Source: EIA, Baker Hughes.

So how is production rising, even as oil prices fall and rig counts drop?, Fig. 1. Some point to the completion of DUCs (drilled-but-uncompleted wells), but these explain only a small portion of the increase. The larger driver is ongoing innovation. Operators continue to push the envelope with longer laterals, now stretching up to four miles, batch completions, cube development, and the use of solvents and natural gas liquids (NGLs) in the fracturing process. New landing zones are being identified and new shale exploration targets tested. Even refracs of older wells, once dismissed as ineffective, are showing promising results. 

In short, the oil patch is thriving on ingenuity. The entrepreneurial spirit remains strong. 

Where are we going?  With current oil price volatility and geopolitical forces, the number of rigs working in U.S. shale fields may continue to fall. This is why many pundits suggest shale has peaked, and the industry will not be able to keep onshore U.S. production rising, or even steady in some basins.  Analytics firm Novi Labs forecasts a 400,000-bpd drop in Lower 48 unconventional production by the end of 2026 unless something disrupts the current decline.  

So, how can the industry disrupt this decline? If it does not come from drilling more wells, it will have to come from innovation. Operators continue to make substantial improvements to all phases of the process. Today, wells drilled have longer laterals, employ improved completion technology, have minimized the parent/child effects, and use AI/ML to debottleneck operations. This will facilitate better second-tier acreage economics and extend the productive life of many assets.   

But still, the best we can achieve today is a meager 5% to 12% recovery in tight oil and 10% to 25% in shale gas. How can we double or even triple the recovery from these challenging rocks? It may not be a single technology but rather application of many steps, Fig. 2. The key for increasing recovery will be to increase the surface area exposed, increase the conductivity of the fluid flow system, and overcome the retainment forces holding on to the reservoir fluids. Efficiency gains will reduce input power, reduce cycle time, and reduce environmental impact.

Fig. 2. Increasing recovery and efficiency may come from a variety of technologies working together.

Forecasts are often wrong. Long-term forecasts often fail to anticipate technological breakthroughs that drastically alter supply. For example, the U.S. shale gas and oil boom driven by multi-stage completions, combined with hydraulic fracturing, was missed by many forecasts, because this technology was not yet widely known or considered at the time of prediction. Forecasts sometimes rely on political or aspirational assumptions rather than realistic data. For instance, the International Energy Agency's (IEA) forecasts of peak oil demand by 2030 have been criticized for ignoring ongoing economic growth in developing countries, slower-than-expected energy transitions, and continued reliance on oil in transport and petrochemicals. For national security, shale gas production needs to be growing and strategically puts the U.S. as the world’s largest exporter of liquified natural gas. 

So, is shale dead? Certainly not, it’s evolving. Today’s operators are balancing aggressive reserve growth with strict capital discipline. While cutting back on drilling rigs, the shale industry can quickly respond and ramp up or down, as needed. Meanwhile, refracs are proving cost-effective on existing vintage wells, extending the life of premium acreage. Enhanced oil recovery techniques, from special solvents and friction reducers to wettability-altering agents, are boosting flowback and pushing well lives even further. Advanced drilling methods to create horseshoe wells, completion methods like simulfracs and trimulfracs to complete multiple wells at once, and “cube development” let companies pre-drill stacked benches and complete them in batches. Low-density proppants penetrate deeper into the formation, propping fractures open more effectively.   

Future declines predicted for U.S. shale production assume we’re running out of Tier-1 acreage where the best geology and best productivity are located. However, Tier-2 areas, though geologically less ideal, still hold significant promise. With longer laterals, smarter completions, and data-driven optimization, these less-hyped zones can deliver high production and solid returns. Calling shale “dead” is premature. Like the Monty Python and the Holy Grail “bring out your dead” skit, such forecasts collect bodies that aren’t there. Shale has faced countless doomsday predictions and keeps defying them. Shale is not dead yet, shale is alive and kicking. 

Fig. 3. Estimate of global unconventional resource potential, compiled from various sources.

Now for something completely different. The U.S. is where unconventionals started, and other countries have noticed. Globally, tight-oil and shale-gas potential (Fig. 3) represents significant opportunity.  Some counties are already developing their resources.    

Our neighbor to the north in Canada is successfully producing about 700,000 bopd and 7 Bcfd from unconventionals in the Montney, Doig and Duvernay plays. Argentina’s Vaca Muerta shale is now producing over 447,000 bopd and 2.9 Bcfd from 3,300 wells and has aspirations of becoming an exporter of LNG. China’s Sichuan basin produces about 2.5 Bcfd from four shale fields. The UAE is producing commercial shale gas from its Ruwais-Diyab shale field with partner TotalEnergies.  

Saudi Aramco is developing shale gas at Jafurah that has an estimate EUR of over 200 Tcf. Bahrain has partnered with U.S. firm EOG Resources to explore deep tight gas prospects onshore in the Awali, Jauf and Jubah fields. Tamboran and Beetaloo Energy (formerly Empire Energy Australia) are exploring shale gas from the Beetaloo basin. Continental Resources has signed a joint venture agreement with Türkiye Petroleum (TPAO) and TransAtlantic Petroleum to explore and develop unconventional oil and gas resources in Turkey. Algeria is close to finalizing a deal with ExxonMobil and Chevron to tap the North African nation’s vast gas reserves, including shale.  

Even Mexico has made a major change in energy policy to allow hydraulic fracturing and start exploring shale gas in the Burgos basin. This would help to help offset Pemex’s 10-year decline in domestic production.  

Conclusion. Unconventional resources in the U.S. are reaching maturity in the best-tier acreage, requiring operators to balance financial returns with reserve growth. However, Tier-2 acreage should not be discounted; continued technological progress and ingenuity will find ways to produce these resources economically. Recent operator data show drilling efficiency has improved by over 20% and completion efficiency by around 30% since 2021.  

These advances allow operators to tolerate lower breakeven prices, and many are drawing down their DUC (drilled-but-uncompleted well) inventory, as these wells are less expensive to bring online. While commodity prices remain the biggest driver, shaped by supply and demand forces beyond our control, what can be influenced is the pace of innovation, which brings new methods to increase recovery and unlock challenging resources economically. 

LNG and gas growth. According to EIA projections, U.S. LNG exports are expected to rise from 4.3 Tcf per year today to over 9.8 Tcf per year by 2037, with much of this growth sourced from shale gas. U.S. LNG capacity is anticipated to double by 2030, and to support this expansion, midstream companies are planning additional pipeline capacity from plays like the Marcellus and Utica shales to Gulf Coast export terminals. This will secure the U.S.’s position as a dominant global supplier of affordable, lower-emission energy. 

Global shale development. Outside North America, shale development remains in its infancy. Many of the advantages that fueled the U.S. boom, like private land ownership, extensive infrastructure, efficient supply chains, and skilled labor, are absent in other countries. Even so, these challenges abroad are not insurmountable. With time and innovation, they can be overcome. To borrow from Mark Twain: “Reports of shale’s death are greatly exaggerated;” shale is far from finished and remains a vital part of the global energy story. 

DOUGLAS N. VALLEAU is President, Strategia Innovation and Technology Advisors, LLC, and Senior V.P., Business Development, at Piri Technologies LLC. He works with energy professionals to provide geoscience and reservoir characterization, IOR, EOR and CCUS evaluations, expert testimony, and equity determination. In collaboration with Piri Technologies, Mr. Valleau provides two- and three-phase, full-reservoir conditions, core flood experiments, with simultaneous CT scan to reveal the full physics of fluid flow through porous media. He helps clients identify innovation in geoscience and petroleum engineering to explore strategic ways to achieve the energy transition, focused on value, growth and sustainability. Prior to Strategia, Mr. Valleau was Chief Geologist and Director of Unconventional Technology for Hess Corporation. He has held various management and geoscience and engineering positions with ConocoPhillips, Burlington Resources, Maxus, BHP Billiton, Monsanto, and Gulf Oil. He is a member of SEG, SPE, AAPG, Society of Professional Well Log Analysts, and the Houston Geological Society. Mr. Valleau is a certified petroleum geologist, registered in the State of Texas, and he holds a master’s degree in geoscience from the University of Florida in 1977.