A new Reuters report on the hedging positions of the 30 largest U.S. shale companies shows that only about one third of the companies chose to add to hedges and lock in $60/bbl crude oil prices during Q2. For now, many companies are holding off for a rebound in crude prices, but bounceback has yet to materialize.

The Numbers

According to the report, only 12 of the 30 companies added to their hedges in Q2 by increasing their outstanding oil options, swaps or other derivative positions by a total of 36 million barrels. On the other hand, 14 of the 30 top shale companies saw their net hedges reduced by a total of 37 million barrels during the quarter.

As a whole, the group of 30 shale companies has combined hedges of about a third less than they did a year ago.

Largest Q2 Additions

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation APC 1.99%, Pioneer Natural Resources PXD 2.8% and Marathon Oil Corporation MRO 0.24% were…

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