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Shell Chief says U.S. shale producers under pressure from Saudi Arabia - FT

(Reuters) - OPEC's decision, led by Saudi Arabia, to not cut oil production has put pressure on U.S. shale gas producers which in turn has put brakes on America's energy boom, the chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell Plc said in an interview with the Financial Times published on Wednesday. Ben van Beurden said in an interview that OPEC's decision in the face of soaring U.S. output and weaker-than-expected demand had sent a strong signal that Riyadh would not "underwrite the price" by utilising its supplies to balance the market. He stopped short of predicting a sharp fall in U.S. output and said efforts by companies to cut costs and improve efficiency meant production would likely remain at current levels for a while. OPEC at a meeting on June 5 kept its policy unchanged amid signs the near-halving of oil prices since June 2014 was boosting demand and dampening the U.S. shale boom. (Reporting by Shivam Srivastava in Bengaluru)