E&P firms reluctant to hedge in wake of oil collapse

US shale drillers expected to suffer as hedges expire in the second half of 2015

Faced with the fall in crude oil prices, US E&P firms have used hedging in different ways

Since the beginning of the shale revolution, US exploration and production (E&P) firms have used cheap financing, hedging and innovations in unconventional drilling to build a world-beating industry. With the help of soaring shale production, the US overtook Saudi Arabia to become the world's largest crude oil producer last year, producing 11.6 million barrels (bbl) daily, according to a June 2015 report by UK-based oil major BP.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the surge has contributed to significant d