I think all we're arguing is the latency between teardown and starting back up. Variables are going to be how long the Sauds and Russian can engage in a price war, how long until insolvency for producers and developers, and what it looks like when they arrive at insolvency, go through bankruptcy, what happens to the equipment, etc.
I argue this is going to go on for more than a few weeks. Saudi Arabia and Russia can hold out longer than most over leveraged US fracking orgs, especially with the US credit markets in turmoil. No one is going to be racing to extend further credit to frackers already in financial distress. Production won't start back up immediately because it'll take time to start back up.
Ok, Id buy that hypothesis. $30 persist for many months, over exposed outfits fold, better capitalized outfits (majors & secondary?) acquire assets, price recovers, it takes months to recover instead of weeks due to organizational/legal/logistic lag. The volatility is whats extending the time scale. But on a medium time horizon we still have lots of US production at $60 a barrel.
I agree with what both of you are saying, and if someone is willing to extend credit at ~$60 to the frackers again, it will happen. The question is who… banks aren't doing so well right now (else why the need for JPM at the discount window, more pomo, more frbny broker-dealer repo, and equity on major us banks testing 5 year lows, whos ficc revenue growth at ZLB will be pretty much non existent or even contracting more than it already has).
I argue this is going to go on for more than a few weeks. Saudi Arabia and Russia can hold out longer than most over leveraged US fracking orgs, especially with the US credit markets in turmoil. No one is going to be racing to extend further credit to frackers already in financial distress. Production won't start back up immediately because it'll take time to start back up.