Not Deterred By Huge Risks, Shell Opts For Megaprojects

U.S. shale has offered the oil industry a business model that is different from conventional drilling of the past. High initial decline rates, especially compared to conventional wells, requires companies to continuously drill to keep up production. But with lower upfront costs and shorter ramp up times, shale drilling is arguably less risky than a multibillion-dollar megaproject that the oil majors had become accustomed to over the past decade.