Fuel Fix reports that “OPEC’s decision not to cut its oil production benchmark of 30 million barrels per day at its annual meeting in Vienna may have widely been seen as shot at U.S. shale producers — who are helping the country to become the largest oil producer in the world — but choosing to do nothing is already hurting its own members.”  

“Unlike their international counterparts, producers in the United States have break-even points far lower than $100. In some shale plays, as in parts of the Eagel Ford Shale in South Texas, the break-even point is closer to $40. Most of the shale plays in the U.S. will remain profitable below $80.”