US oil rigs count fell by 10 for the week ending 20 November, 2015. Despite the drop in oil rigs count, oil price remained in the US$40 - US$42 range.
Oil price could potentially fall below US$40 in the near term as the glut in supply refuses to give way. This could put many US shale oil companies in jeopardy of defaulting on their heavy debt loads. Re-financing options are thin as many investors and private equity funds got burned, investing billions of dollars in US shale oil companies in spring, believing that oil price would recover towards the end of the year.
As early as Q1 2016 we could witness another round of bankruptcies.
The ball is very much in OPEC's court as many members are facing a squeeze on budget and many more could see their sovereign wealth funds deplete to troublesome levels should oil price fall into the US$30s range.
A proclamation of war on US shale oil has reached a level where there will be no winners but all could wind up as losers.
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