U.S. Shale’s Debt Detox Is A Huge Win For Shareholders

North America’s oil and gas producers have reduced their total debts by $26 billion since the end of 2019 as the shale industry made the structural shift from spending to grow production to increasing shareholder returns and strengthening balance sheets.     The significant debt reduction at North American oil and gas producers, coupled with capital discipline at most shale firms, points to lasting gains for the credit quality of more than 60 such exploration and production firms rated by Moody’s, the credit rating…