Gadfly
It's Decision Time in the Shale Patch
E&P firms should use this earnings season to get realistic about targets.
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Like this volatile fall weather, it's tougher than usual to plan for the imminent earnings season in the oil and gas business.
The industry had a tough second quarter. The early euphoria generated by OPEC's supply cuts gave way to the realization that oil prices were drifting sideways at best. Meanwhile, signs that exploration and production companies were -- in Halliburton Co.'s words -- "tapping the brakes" on drilling raised fears the shale productivity miracle was reaching its limits. A sharp cut to guidance on oil production from bellwether Pioneer Natural Resources Co. was the coup de grace.