Cash-strapped U.S. shale oil producers are facing another sharp sell-off in a 18-month-old crude slump with reduced hedging protection, risking a severe hit to earnings if prices fail to recover. A Reuters analysis of hedging disclosures from the 30 largest oil producers showed the sector as a whole reduced its hedge books in the three months to September. “Producers have survived 2015 as they benefited from large reductions in service costs while having a significant amount of production hedged at high prices,” said John Arnold, the Texas billionaire formerly at hedge fund Centaurus Advisors. “Come Jan. 1, revenues will experience a pronounced decline for many companies, coinciding with a time of severe stress for balance sheets across the industry,” he told Reuters. When oil started falling from […]