Shale companies continue to drill at frenzied pace, breaking U.S. oil production levels. Yet production is becoming increasingly geographically concentrated.
Echoing criticism of too much hype surrounding U.S. shale from Saudi oil minister last week, new report finds shale drilling still largely not profitable.
Oil prices are set to close out the year up more than 11 percent, hitting their highest level since 2015. However, the road to higher prices was rocky.
Venezuelan President Maduro shocked the market in early December when he followed China's 'petro-yuan' futures announcement by making headlines of himself proclaiming a new national cryptocurrency - the 'Petro' - to overcome The West's "financial blockade."
Last week, OPEC decided to extend its production cuts through end of 2018. The target is now to bring global oil inventories back down to the 5 year average.
The world's hottest shale basin, the Permian, is leading the second U.S. wave of tight oil production growth and will continue to do so for years to come, all analysts say.
While OPEC mulls over further steps to once again support falling oil prices, tech startups are quietly ushering in a new era in oil and gas: the era of the digital oil field.
