The significant drop in oil prices since mid-2014 — and predictions by many experts that oil and oil-linked natural gas prices will not reach their pre-crash high anytime soon — has made cost reduction the key to maintaining the viability of such plays.
Through a combination of cost reductions due to more efficient development and increased recovery factors from more precise landing of laterals and better fracturing techniques, operators are seeing break-even prices come down dramatically, putting more acreage in the money even at current prices.
