# FreightWaves oil report: how much does it cost to produce a barrel of oil from the shale? - FreightWaves

> A weekly FreightWaves oil review examined how the Dallas Federal Reserve estimates shale production costs. The Dallas Fed said the long-dated WTI futures curve on CME is the best measure of marginal supply cost. The article contrasts this with earlier estimates of shale breakeven costs near $75-$80 per barrel.

- Date: 2019-05-25 · published 2019-05-25T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: report · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/7392-freightwaves-oil-report-how-much-does-it-cost-to-produce-a-barrel-of-oil-from
- Commodities: [Crude Oil (WTI)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/WTI.md)

## Why it matters

If the long-dated futures curve reflects marginal shale cost, that level acts as a soft floor on sustained crude prices, since shale output would slow if prices stayed below it.

## Read by commodity

- WTI: neutral

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WTI | 2026-04-14 | [Benchmark diesel price ends its 12-week streak of increases - FreightWaves](https://feedsoft.ai/events/10137-benchmark-diesel-price-ends-its-12-week-streak-of-increases-freightwaves.md) | -9.6% | +0.2% |
| WTI | 2019-02-01 | [EIA forecasts world crude oil prices to rise gradually, averaging $65 per barrel in 2020](https://feedsoft.ai/events/61262-eia-forecasts-world-crude-oil-prices-to-rise-gradually-averaging-65-per-barrel.md) | -2.1% | +6.3% |
| WTI | 2017-08-01 | [Brent and WTI crude oil prices expected to average about $50 per barrel through 2018](https://feedsoft.ai/events/70147-brent-and-wti-crude-oil-prices-expected-to-average-about-50-per-barrel-through.md) | -1.6% | -7.5% |
| WTI | 2022-03-31 | [Statement about Oil Market Report data - IEA](https://feedsoft.ai/events/42181-statement-about-oil-market-report-data-iea.md) | -10.6% | -2.2% |
| WTI | 2017-08-10 | [OPEC Boosts Oil-Demand Outlook While Its Production Rises - Bloomberg](https://feedsoft.ai/events/69362-opec-boosts-oil-demand-outlook-while-its-production-rises-bloomberg.md) | -5.6% | -1.0% |

## Sources

- freightwaves.com: https://www.freightwaves.com/news/freightwaves-oil-report-how-much-does-it-cost-to-produce-a-barrel-of-oil-from-the-shale-the-answer-is-easy-to-get

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.