HOUSTON, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Major oil companies in Permian Basin have locked in 50 U.S dollars a barrel for nearly two-thirds of output for the rest of the year, local media reported on Wednesday.
Local media quoted HIS Markit, a consultancy firm, as reporting that 18 shale drillers in the oil patch of Permian Basin, located in the west of Texas State, including Pioneer Natural Resources, Parsley Energy and Laredo Petroleum, took advantage of higher oil prices earlier this year and hedged their production, a move that could shield them from much of the financial pressure to curb spending for the next few months.
Despite the decline in oil prices in recent weeks, those producers are expected to boost their output by a median of 25 percent this year.
In the Permian Basin, multiple stacked layers of oil-soaked rock have given oil producers a financial advantage over their rivals outside of the region, which have hedged only 19 percent of their oil production for the rest of the year. Those producers are expected to see a median 1 percent drop in oil and gas output this year.
Next year, oil companies in the Permian Basin have already hedged a quarter of their future oil production, a high amount for this time of year.
