http://profitableinvestingtips.com/stock-investing-tips/risk-versus-profit-in-fracking-shale-formations Risk versus Profit in Fracking Shale Formations As oil prices fall we would like to look at risk versus profit in fracking shale formations. The United States crude oil production is near a four decade high. With production at historic highs the U.S. imported 3.7 billion barrels of oil in 2014 as opposed to 5 billion barrels of oil in 2006 according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration web page for U.S. Imports of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products. That was twenty-six percent drop in oil imports. As a result of the U.S. oil shale fracking boom and a lagging world economy the price of crude oil has fallen substantially. Reuters reports that oil is near an 11-year-low due to excess supply. Reuters reports the story. Oil fell to around $37 a barrel on Monday, trading within sight of an 11-year low, pressured by excess supply that has led to prices more than halving since the downturn began in mid-2014. U.S. crude was trading above global benchmark Brent, having earlier in December risen to a premium for the first time in about a year following the lifting of a 40-year-old ban on most U.S. crude exports. “We expect both prices to rise next year,” said Eugen Weinberg, an analyst at Commerzbank. “A short-term slide can’t be excluded, due to persisting over-supplies, negative sentiment and stronger downside momentum.” Figures from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries imply a glut of more than 2 million barrels per day, equal to over 2 percent of world demand. Oversupply is expected to persist into the earlier part of next year. The problem for those pulling oil from share formation via fracking is keeping costs low and production high while staying in business until the price of oil goes up.