Energy Secretary Chris Wright Says Shale Industry Will ‘Survive And Thrive’ As Crude Oil Strays Below $60

To make his case, Wright cited the 2014-2016 period, when crude oil prices fell below $30 a barrel. The shale industry got smarter and innovated to bring their costs down, he said.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright thinks the shale industry will be able to tide over the recent plunge in crude oil prices.

Wright made the remarks in a CNBC interview, as the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures have plummeted more than 16% since President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs took effect on April 2.

Wright said he’s bullish on the U.S. shale industry despite the rapid price decline. “The U.S. shale industry is going to survive and thrive,” he said.

Rising economic uncertainties due to Trump’s tariffs and crude oil supplies have put downward pressure on crude oil prices.

Wright cited the 2014-2016 period, when crude oil prices fell below $30 a barrel, to support his argument.

“What did the U.S. shale industry do in that time — innovate, get smarter, drive their costs down, and that’s what’s happening right now,” he said.

Retail investors on Stocktwits are not worried about the growth prospects. According to an ongoing poll, 44% of the nearly 2,000 respondents believe growth fears are “overblown.”

However, nearly a third of the respondents are bearish and anticipate a global recession ahead.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs project WTI crude to hit the $58 a barrel mark by December 2025 and $51 by December 2026.

At its current price of $59.80, WTI crude is barely above Goldman’s projections, over seven months ahead of schedule.

Amid growth concerns, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, edged lower by over 0.2% on Friday.

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