Oil prices in mid-$60s put U.S. shale profits in danger zone, investors say
(Bloomberg) -- Activity is slowing in U.S. oil fields as drillers remain in the crude-price danger zone for profits, according to one of the biggest investors of private operators in the shale patch.
“In the mid-$60s, you get dangerously close to where oil prices don’t really drive appropriate returns for new drilling,” Dwight Scott, who joined Quantum Capital Group at the start of this month as executive vice chairman, said on Bloomberg TV Wednesday. “So, activity in the oil field is slowing; I think that’s a temporary thing.”
West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, has fallen 8% since the start of this year, trading at $65.82 a barrel on Wednesday. Scott, who helped build Blackstone Inc.’s credit arm into a $330 billion business, said while uncertainty around tariffs has contributed to reduced drilling activity, he expects the U.S. “will continue to be a leader in oil and gas.”
