It was a bumpy week for crude benchmarks, although WTI and Brent jumped sharply on Thursday after the EIA reported a surprise drawdown in crude oil stocks. U.S. oil production also remained flat, halting, however briefly, the surge in oil production. “For a little bit of a bullish boost, you’ve got all the planets lined up here after this report,” Bob Yawger, director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities U.S.A., told the WSJ . Shale still struggling to be profitable. Shale drillers are still having trouble posting profits and despite promises of focusing on shareholder returns this year, there is a divergence of strategies among the top shale companies. Reuters reports that an analysis of the top 15 largest independent shale companies finds that only five have started paying […]