FT: US shale is a surprisingly unprofitable miracle

Near outright admissions of error by chief executives, such as Mr Voser’s as quoted in the Financial Times, are far too rare, thanks to the bubbles of sycophancy in which most of them live.

The “unconventional” he referred to is the general term the hydrocarbon world gives to reserves of oil and gas from difficult to extract rocks such as shales, or very densely packed (“tight”) sandstones. These require techniques such as hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”, extra capital and skilled labour.

That a company with the technical ability and cash of Shell would find production from fracked shale had not “play(ed) out as planned” should give pause to the investors and commentators who have become believers in the shale miracle.  MORE