The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday, April 8, edition that the 68-per-cent surge in crude prices since the start of the Iran war is incentive enough to compel American oil executives to ramp up output, according to observers at Citigroup. A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post reports that Exxon Mobil and Chevron, two of the biggest Permian basin drillers, have a "higher probability" than peers of increasing shale output, according to Jason Gabelman, an analyst at TD Cowen. Exxon already had aggressive growth plans through 2030 while Chevron had previously guided to a production "plateau" after years of rapid increases. "Our take in the first couple of weeks was that operators will look for a signal that price growth or high prices will be sustained before committing any capital into drilling new wells," Matthew Bernstein, vice president for North America oil and gas at Rystad, said during an interview. "Now, a month into the conflict, I think we're starting to see that signal emerge." Shale explorers require oil prices somewhere between $62 (U.S.) and $70 (U.S.) a barrel to turn a profit on new wells. As of Tuesday morning, the U.S. benchmark traded around $115 (U.S.).