Getty Images An analyst estimates the oil per-barrel cost for shale producers at $30 to $50.U.S. shale oil producers don’t benefit quite as much as you might expect from high crude prices, thanks to pipeline bottlenecks and price hedging. “Many of these shale companies are spending more than they are making, or close to it,” said Matt Badiali, senior research analyst at Banyan Hill. “These companies aren’t exposed to the higher prices because many of them hedged their oil production at $50 per barrel,” he said—well below the $62.88 he pegged as the average in the first quarter of this year.oil