Mike, I'd like to know on a give it take basis, what the total spent on shale oil, by the number of barrels gleaned. Id bet that's not a cheap barrel. I never thought it made much sense, other than short cycle, per well cheap projects, so attractive in sense that if circumstances change, they can pull up stakes and go without risking huge long term investment. If course down side is thin thin thin margins.

It is actually THE most expensive barrel produced on the planet, going away. The true costs of it are lied about very effectively. There is indeed little risk to drilling the same wells over and over again on 500 foot spacing, you'd think they would have gotten better at it. But they haven't. And now the good stuff is gone.

So I can tell you what total shale production is in the U.S., I just can tell you what total costs are, including leasehold costs (the dumb bastards use to pay $50,60,70K an acre just for lease bonuses, or bidding on BLM acreage. Infrastructure to get the stuff to market? Whoa. I KNOW, pretty much, what the shale oil industry paid mineral owners and its pretty close to $600B, just for royalty.

My guess, more than $2.5 trillion, easy. Porobably way more.

I'll think about it, Conway...but it is no miracle. It was created on debt and exists on debt. Only Americans ignore debt, so 99.9% of Americans think shale oil is better than beer. Ask 2% of the American population that is lucky to have royalty under it...they all think its the greatest stuff in the world !

No margins, Conway; thin or thick. It has not made money yet, as a resource play its a financial disaster.