Cost varies.
Oil Basin Breakeven Estimates as of late-2013 ($/bbl): Eagle Ford $65, Bakken Core $75, Permian $80, Niobrara $80, Bakken Fringe $85, Utica $85, Mississippian $85, Cana Woodford $90, Ardmore Woodford$95. (all unconventional) [source], plus, for all types:
Thanks. Great graph.
You know, it seems to me that the last time I saw the numbers for Baaken, Eagle Ford, Niobrara and Permian. The production costs for them were 10 dollars a barrel higher—except for woodford which was the same..
This graph is for 2013. Maybe the earlier one I saw was for 2012.
..................
US oil production had been going up steadily after WWII. It stopped in 1970 and started trending down—with a brief pitch up in the 1980’s under reagan during some years when the saudis were throttling back their production.
The reason US production had been trending down since 1970 was because saudi oil production in a few short years went from 3 million barrels a day to 9 million barrels a day. They could pull oil out of the ground at that time in 1960-70’s dollars for .25-.50 a barrel and ship it anywhere in the world for 1.25@ barrel in 1970’s dollars. (I think that if you multiply that number by 3.5 or so you’ll get current dollars)
The USA could not extract oil — nor anyone else for that matter — for the same price that the saudis could. It was cheaper just to import the oil.
Now once placed in a monopoly position the saudis jacked up the price of oil and nationalized the oil companies.
Today the saudis cannot get oil from the ground nearly as inexpensively as they could 40 years ago. But I would be surprised if their costs of extraction exceeded $30 @ barrel in today’s dollars. (I don’t know if they publish their production costs.)
The costs listed on this IEA table for the middle east list $16 for middle eastern production costs but only go through 2009 —so they’re out of date. None of the number reflect fracking costs. The saudis don’t frack today but they do do enhanced recovery. I don’t know how much that ads to their tab.
http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=367&t=6