The cost to drill a well is not sunk when they haven&#x27;t drilled the well yet.<p>Well some companies are in fact drilling wells at a loss, but only because they have to pay bills while they pray for oil prices return and potentially survive this supposed rough patch. However, that says more about their debt situation than it does the cost of horizontal drilling.<p>Bottom line is that some companies are in fact making a profit drilling horizontal shale wells @ $35 barrel.