Offshore May Never Recover, page-4

Shale oil wells can be drilled in weeks meaning that there is very little time between investment and cash flow. A shale well also costs under $10 million and can’t ruin a company like a billion dollar offshore project.
The location of shale within the continental United States is also far superior than being in the middle of the ocean. Pipelines are already in place onshore, employees can go home to their families every night and operational and health and safety risks are far lower.
Shale is simply a better option than deepwater development.