ow that oil prices have rebounded to $50 per barrel, will U.S. shale drillers turn the taps back on?
That is the million dollar question that the oil markets still do not have a clear answer on. Last year, when oil prices rebounded from $44 per barrel in March to $60 in June, the rig count leveled off. Some drillers even redeployed some rigs, stepping up drilling ahead of what they believed would be a swift rebound in prices.
The renewed drilling spooked the markets and crude plunged again, and since August of last year, the rig count has been falling, shedding another 400 to 500 rigs in only nine months.