Drill, Baby, Drill
The White House Pushed the Majors to Drill. The Permian Did Not Move — U.S. Shale Has Stopped Responding to Price
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum convened a 45-minute call with the CEOs of ExxonMobil, Chevron, Occidental Petroleum and Continental Resources. The U.S. rig count has fallen to 543, the Permian is holding at 242, and independent producers plan flat 2026 capital expenditure. For Argentina, the read-through runs through capital: when price-drilling elasticity breaks in the dominant basin, rotation into Vaca Muerta stops being an optional bet.