The Shale Revolution: EOG, OPEC, and Profits from Shale Oil (Part 3)

Backtest

0:00

-1:11:59

The Shale Revolution: EOG, OPEC, and Profits from Shale Oil (Part 3)

Dec 23, 2025

In Part 1, George Mitchell unlocked shale gas. In Part 2, Aubrey McClendon fueled the boom with a capital and land machine at Chesapeake. In Part 3, we tell the story of one of the operators who makes shale production stick. EOG Resources led by CEO Mark Papa cultivates a unique (and uniquely secretive) culture of rigorous capital allocation and constant technical experimentation.

We follow Papa and his lieutenants Bill Thomas and Gary Thomas as they see what others miss: shale’s success in natural gas will eventually create a glut that will crash prices. EOG must pivot to oil or stall. From a dramatic 2007 offsite where Mark tells his team to stop looking for natural gas, to early experiments in the Bakken, to a quietly assembled position in the Eagle Ford, EOG’s edge leads it to become a top US oil producer.

But before they can enjoy their success, the market turns again. On Thanksgiving day 2014, Saudi petroleum minister Ali Al-Naimi announces to the world that OPEC won’t cut production to balance global oil markets. Oil prices collapse by 60% over the next 12 months and the shale boom faces its first true stress test. We unpack why so many companies break—and why EOG doesn’t—ending with the playbook that helped shale survive: low cost operations, productivity gains from technology, focus on premium wells, and operating discipline built to survive boom-bust cycles.