Statoil: Shale Oil Will Be Profitable at $50 Per Barrel Within Next 2 Years

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From Reuters:
Norwegian oil producer Statoil ASA expects its U.S. shale operations to be profitable within two years at crude prices of $50 per barrel, an improvement helped by simplifying operations, technological improvements and cost cuts. 
Torgrim Reitan, Statoil's head of United States operations, said in an interview that the company's push for the lower break-even price is largely due to internal improvements that should stick regardless of any price hikes from service providers. 
"Our business clearly makes sense in a $50 (per barrel) environment," Reitan said Monday on the sidelines of the CERAWeek conference, the world's largest gathering of energy executives. "It is remarkable to see how the whole industry has responded positively to the new price reality." 
Statoil, which produces shale oil and natural gas in North Dakota's Bakken, the Eagle Ford of Texas and the Marcellus of Pennsylvania, moved its U.S. operational staff to Austin, Texas, last year, a step Reitan said has helped push down costs.

The company's U.S. shale oil break-even price stood at $66 per barrel at the end of 2016, a 35 percent improvement from the prior year. That should drop to $50 by 2018, he said.
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