Though the increase is small compared to the whopping 155,000 job cuts over the past two years, the increase is an indication that the cycle in the industry is finally starting to swing in another direction.
The shale oil companies should thank their OPEC counterparts—their talks to cut production boosted oil prices by about 25 percent since mid-November.
The shale oil drillers have taken advantage of the higher crude oil prices to hedge for 2017. Pioneer, one of the better run shale oil producers, has hedged 75 percent of its 2017 output at an average price of $50 per barrel.
