h-man: "Each individual company made decisions and took actions based on projections of what the outcome would be for them individually, but their projections did not factor the collective impact of all their cohorts' own decisions, thereby flooding the market and negating each other's assumptions of the near-term future for the crude oil market." I wonder if folks, including you, think I'm just kidding when I say that the price and shale boom collapse didn't come as a surprise to the oil patch. Honestly, I'm not shitting you. LOL. I've had numerous conversation with many of the pubco Eagle Ford players since the beginning of the boom: the business plan was simple = borrow as much money and drill as fast as possible so management can cash out before the very predictable bust.
There is a very, very old (about 100 years) and true saying: " There is a very old saying among land promoters regarding boom plays: "You roll into town with the first wagonload of whores and roll out before the first wagon of production equipment arrives." And that isn't hindsight: the Rockman posted those exact words 25 May 2010 on the Oil Drum...over 5 years ago.
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http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6488)
It was true then. It was true 100 years ago. And it's true today. Why would Petrohawk sold their undeveloped EFS acreage for $15 BILLION and walked away from the play if they thought they could turn a better profit drilling? Trust me: we might be mean and cutthroat...but we ain't stupid.