As Oil Hits $75, Shell Wants Deepwater Costs at $40 or Below

[thackney]

As Oil Hits $75, Shell Wants Deepwater Costs at $40 or Below
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-01/as-oil-hits-75-shell-wants-deepwater-costs-at-40-or-below

The Big Oil playbook has been straightforward for decades: Higher prices mean offshore projects that are further, deeper, more complex than ever before. It’s different this time, according to Royal Dutch Shell Plc.

Deepwater projects need to break even at $40 a barrel, or preferably lower, said Harry Brekelmans, Shell’s project and technology director, in an interview Monday, That’s almost half the cost of some projects commissioned before the 2014 oil-price crash, he said. On Monday, Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose to more than $75 a barrel in London.

“You’ve got to think about that 35-40 range,” Brekelmans said at the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston. “It’s something we want to be very disciplined around because it gives you reassurance that going forward, your portfolio is resilient.”...

[IsailedawayfromFR]

I am currently at the OTC and have seen a number of indicators this is a directional goal.  Competition for capital comes from unconventionals.

There are over 2400 exhibitors here and attendance is close to 100,000, showing the interest.