Oil Titan Harold Hamm Warns Drilling Could Stop If Oil Prices Remain Low: 'You Can't Drill, Baby, Drill'

Harold Hamm, oil magnate and founder of Continental Resources, issued a stark warning: if oil prices remain at current levels, drilling in key U.S. shale fields could come to a standstill. 

The Details: Speaking at CERAWeek in Houston, Hamm emphasized that with oil prices hovering near $65 per barrel, many fields are already struggling to remain viable. 

"When you get below the cost of supply, you can't ‘drill, baby, drill,'" he told Bloomberg, per OilPrice.com.

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While industry leaders have applauded the rollback of Biden-era climate regulations, Trump's trade policies—particularly his tariff disputes with Canada—are creating uncertainty and further pressuring crude oil prices. Trump has described the lower prices as "phenomenal news," but many in the oil sector are expressing concern. 

"There are a lot of fields that are getting to the point that's real tough to keep that cost of supply down," Hamm told Bloomberg Television. 

"When you get down to that $50 oil that you talked about, then you're below the point where you're going to ‘drill, baby, drill.'"

ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) CEO Ryan Lance also highlighted inflationary pressures and investor anxiety over Trump's unpredictable trade policies affecting the industry. 

Scott Sheffield, former CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources, told Bloomberg Television that the price publicly traded oil drillers need to cover costs and turn a profit is between $50 and $55 a barrel. 

The oil industry could be at a turning point as low oil prices benefit consumers but pose significant challenges for producers.

The United States Oil Fund LP (NYSE:USO) ETF, tracking the daily price movements of light, sweet crude oil, is down more than 4% in 2025.

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