Oil production from shales and other low-permeability formations would be declining by now and that oil prices consequently would be set to rebound. He was only half-right. Production of so-called tight oil has begun to decline. But the oil price, after having shown signs of life at midyear, has sagged back below $60/bbl. In projections for July versus June in the US Energy Information Administration’s latest Drilling Productivity Report, three of four oily tight-formation plays showed output declines.
