Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct a reference to private oil producers.
“Drill, baby, drill” has long been the Trump administration‘s political shorthand for unleashing U.S. oil production. But the latest shale data suggests the companies actually answering that call aren’t the oil giants dominating energy ETFs.
Instead, it’s a wave of privately held drillers — firms most investors have never heard of — quietly adding rigs across America’s shale basins.
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Private Shale Operators Take The Lead
According to JPMorgan analyst Arun Jayaram, U.S. horizontal land rig activity rose modestly by three rigs week-over-week to 474 active rigs. The bigger story, however, is who is doing the drilling.
Private exploration and production companies added nine rigs during the week, while publicly traded shale firms cut five rigs. Activity from the oil majors remained largely unchanged.
Private operators now run 202 rigs — about 42% of total U.S. horizontal …
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