When Oil was Too Cheap To Drill

[Bluesplayer]

I'm arguing with a fool on another board, and I need some help finding references to the oil companies not pumping from existing domestic wells when the price was low. I'm thinking that this went back to the 70's. Any ideas?

[Junkdrawer]

1. Horizontal drilling stopped in Okla. when prices dropped to $15/bbl...

My wife lived there at the time.

[Junkdrawer]

2. And the low prices hit in the '86 timeframe...

http://www.window.state.tx.us/specialrpt/rural/5oilngas.html

[elehhhhna]

3. and subsea explo stopped the day GW was s elected. coincidence?

[nichomachus]

4. Texas oil production peaked in the early '70s

and has been declining ever since.

Here's a table

http://www.rrc.state.tx.us/divisions/og/statistics/production/ogisopwc.html

[bbinacan]

5. Well they're drilling the hell

out of the Barnett Shale area in north central Texas. New advances in fracing technology along with higher prices makes it feasible. They tried in the early 80s but it was a failure. Oh, I should clarify, this is drilling for natural gas.