“Since the drop in oil prices last year there have been relatively few production shut-ins,” according to the Wood Mackenzie report.
The firm also cautioned against expecting further closures, because “many producers will continue to take the loss in the hope of a rebound in prices.”
Oil companies would rather run their operations at a loss over the short-term than have to incur the costs of completely closing down their shops, which may take months and cost millions of dollars.
“There are barriers to exit,” Robert Plummer, vice president of investment research at Wood Mackenzie, told Bloomberg.
Nevertheless, over the mid- to long-term, oil production may naturally fall as companies refrain from investing and drilling in new projects. Production typically declines at a 5% to 10% rate per year due to aging oilfields. Moreover, there is a steeper rate of decline in U.S. shale oil wells.
United States Oil Fund
Max Chen contributed to this article.