As majors move in, US shale's growth spurt ends

US oil producers seem to be at an inflection point, where efficiency gains are waning, output growth is slowing and capital is drying up, Antoine Halff tells Platts Capitol Crude. On this week's episode, Halff talks rig counts, well completions and flaring, the likely impact of deeper OPEC cuts, and he forecasts the path forward for US oil output. Halff also talks about why lagging government data may be selling a false narrative that the US is a swing producer and details his working theory on why OPEC needs volatile oil prices. Halff, the founder of Kayrros, a data analytics firm, was previously chief oil analyst at the International Energy Agency and lead industry economist at the US Energy Information Administration.