[Zhang Fei]

Are refinements in the extraction process lowering costs? Or is this a brute force procedure that requires $100 oil to be profitable?

[thackney]

I would say cost to produce oil in these tight formations have lowered. Not to say they have become cheap, but average costs in places like the Bakken appear to have lowered some.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/02/energy-crude-bakken-idUSL1N0MU21Z20140402