OPEC, for some quiet moments..

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When the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries started its price war, the U.S. shale boom looked doomed. Two years and one OPEC policy u-turn later, executives at the annual Oil & Money conference in London painted an upbeat outlook for shale, with giants like Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips saying the industry hasn’t just survived the bust, but will continue to have a global influence.

OPEC price war offers meager rewards as U.S. shale survives

The era of the monster frac has arrived in North America, and Chesapeake Energy Corp. is singing its praises. Chesapeake said Thursday at an analyst conference that it set a new record for fracing by pumping more than 25,000 tons of sand down one Louisiana natural gas well, a process the shale driller christened "propageddon.” The super-sized dose of sand is able to prop open bigger and more numerous cracks in the rock for oil and gas to flow. Output from the well increased 70% over traditional fracing techniques, Jason Pigott, V.P. of operations, said during a presentation.

Chesapeake declares ‘propageddon’ with record frac job

Royal Dutch Shell, through its affiliate Shell Canada Energy, has agreed to sell approximately 206,000 net acres of non-core oil and gas properties in Western Canada to Tourmaline Oil Corp. for a total consideration of approximately $1,037 million (C$1,369 million). The consideration is comprised of $758 million in cash and Tourmaline shares valued at $279 million.

Shell divests shale acreage in Western Canada for $1 billion

OPEC’s power to help lift oil prices by curbing output will be tested by the ability of shale-oil producers and other unconventional suppliers to ramp up production, the World Bank said. Crude prices have surged more than 7% since Sept. 28, when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to limit production for the first time in eight years. The group includes 14 major oil producers, from Saudi Arabia to Iran and Nigeria. A global supply glut has caused oil prices to slump over the past two years.

OPEC deal unlikely to lift oil prices for long, World Bank says