“And one other point...maybe semantics.... You are not making any money during construction, so how could you be in a definable break-even point in the first place? Again, my asseratation that the term break even includes both construction, operation, and transportation of product.”
Here’s the quote you threw out there originally:
“Don’t forget....depending on the field , shale is only profitable in and above the $50 - $80 bbl range.”
That is misleading as shale oil is indeed profitable to operate well below that range. I said originally that you meant to say capital profitability and I was clearing that up for you.
There is a breakeven point for the capital to make money in a new project such as new drilling. That BE in most cases for shale oil is higher than the current price of crude.
There is also a breakeven threshold for operating oil wells that were drilled years ago and continue operations.
As an example, I would guess that most current oil shale production has operating costs at $20 per bbl or less. There are millions of barrels per day currently being produced in this country from already drilled shale wells. I want no one to have as a takeaway that this production may be shutin. It by and large will not be.
Furthermore, even though the initial capital costs may be less, the yields reduce as the field ages. So it may be a closer wash more than you are stating.