America's shale firms don't give a frack about financial returns

INSIDE the boardrooms and bars of Houston, the spiritual capital of America's energy industry, the swagger is back. The oil price may only be at $48, or half the level it was three years ago. But shale fracking'the business of getting oil and gas out of rocks by blasting them with water and sand'is booming once again after the crash of 2014-16. Exploration and production (E&P) companies are about to go on an investment spree. Demand is soaring for the industry's raw materials: sand, other people's money, roughnecks and ice-cold beer.Shale's second coming is testament to Texan grit. But the industry's never-say-die spirit may explain why it has done next to nothing about its dire finances. The business has burned up cash for 34 of the last 40 quarters, according to figures on the top 60 listed E&P firms collected by Bloomberg, a data provider. With the exception of airlines, Chinese state enterprises and Silicon Valley unicorns'private firms valued at more than $1bn'shale firms are on an unparalleled money-losing streak. About $11bn was torched in the latest quarter, as capital expenditures exceeded cashflows. The cash-burn rate may well rise again...Continue reading
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