US oil producers were able to achieve significant output growth in the last five years with limited capital investments, BNEF said.

• However, the costs to maintain and operate an oil well have swelled as labour, supplies and water-management expenses soared.
• US oil companies will need to keep production under control or risk losing their low-cost advantage.
• Across the US oil patch, BNEF estimates that lease operating expense has increased by $1.94/boe between 2019-2024.
• BNEF calculates that Bakken breakeven prices could rise from the current $56/b to $66/b if LOE increased by $4/b.
• Meanwhile, the breakeven oil price for Eagle Ford wells can surge from $46 per barrel to $62
• If this occurs, some of the US shale plays could be pushed out of the global oil supply stack due to high costs.
• This would benefit OPEC, which currently has spare capacity available.