"Mr Berman, Meet Mr CVX. Mr CVX, Meet Mr Berman. -- December 8, 2017

From August 11, 2017:

This is Art Berman suggesting that data in December, 2016, suggested that we were seeing the "beginning of the end" for the Bakken. The article begins:

It’s the beginning of the end for the Bakken Shale play.

The decline in Bakken oil production that started in January 2015 is probably not reversible. New well performance has deteriorated, gas-oil ratios have increased and water cuts are rising. Much of the reservoir energy from gas expansion is depleted and decline rates should accelerate. More drilling may increase daily output for awhile but won’t resolve the underlying problem of poorer well performance and declining per-well reserves.

December 2016 production fell 92,000 barrels per day (b/d)–a whopping 9% single-month drop. Over the past two years, output has fallen 285,000 b/d (23%). This was despite an increase in the number of producing wells that reached an all-time high of 13,520 in November. That number fell by 183 wells in December.

Source: NDIC.

From November 30, 2017:

"Shale is not a revolution -- it's a retirement party. Shale plays were not some great new idea. They became important only as more attractive plays were exhausted." -- Art Berman.

Re-posting: where will ChevronTexaco deploy its CAPEX in 2018?

In particular, Chevron is concentrating on increasing its investment in shale as it strives to boost its U.S. shale production next year. For 2018, the company intends to spend $4.3 billion in shale – up 70% year over year – the lion's share (or $3.3 billion) going to the lucrative Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico alone.

The remaining $1 billion has been set aside for other shale investments.

Goodnight Moon, Shivaree