Tight oil, subdued by low oil prices, is already showing signs of resurgence. More operators are hinting through this Q3 results season at redeploying rigs in the coming months, potentially kick starting what will be tight oil’s second great growth phase. OPEC’s price assault on future non-OPEC production has been highly effective, killing off investment in new conventional projects. An oil price below US$50/bbl has done its job, and it’ll be some time before the industry girds its loins for another wave of conventional investment.
The plunge in commodity markets is over when prices bottomed in January 2016. The rise in raw material prices is already filtering downstream and suppliers ...