Now that Christmas has come and gone, and my stomach somehow remains full from all the pecan pie and sweet potatoes I filled it with on Monday, it is time to take a look back at the events of 2017 and assess the status of the domestic oil and gas industry as the year comes to a close. To paraphrase a standard line that every U.S. president uses in every annual state of the union message, the state of the industry as 2017 comes to a close is strong.