As Oil Prices Rise, U.S. Shale Production Surges, Forcing OPEC to Cut Output 📉

“The higher the price goes, the more shale operators accelerate production, and the more OPEC has to cut,” said Mr. Diwan, who forecast<br />that United States shale operators would increase their output by about 900,000 barrels a day this year, soaking up much of OPEC’s production cuts.<br />While production cuts have again bolstered oil prices, the optimism may fade, as shale producers in the United States jump back into the market<br />and the rise of renewables dims prospects for demand.<br />When oil prices plummeted in 2015 and 2016, output from shale in the United States fell<br />about 900,000 barrels a day, equivalent to almost 1 percent of the global supply.<br />Khalid A. al-Falih, the Saudi energy minister, said on Thursday<br />that he foresaw a healthy comeback for American shale production, but he played down its effect on OPEC’s efforts.<br />A few years ago, high energy prices were sustained by a belief<br />that the supply of oil was reaching a peak, but demand — driven by fast-growing economies like China and India — would keep rising.<br />OPEC, Mr. Falih said, “needs to evolve” and needs to “be part of the debate, rather than simply reacting to what is going on.”<br />On Thursday, the bloc announced that Equatorial Guinea, one of Africa’s largest producers, had joined OPEC, becoming its 14th member