OPEC Decision Means ‘pain train’ for U.S. Oil Industry

In this June 12, 2014, aerial photo, an oil well is drilled near Williston, N.D. A decision by OPEC not to cut oil production is hammering major energy companies in the U.S. and abroad. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)

Kevin McCoy, USA Today

(USA TODAY)—OPEC’s decision to maintain oil-production levels could threaten financing for some U.S. oil industry expansion and trigger market consolidation in an only-the-strong-survive scenario, economists and analysts said Friday.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ Thanksgiving Day announcement that it would not cut production in response to weaker prices is seen at least in part as an effort to maintain market share amid competition from U.S. shale oil producers.

The move roiled energy markets in shortened holiday trading Friday, setting off a nosedive in the shares of many U.S. oil companies.
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