The oil majors and shale E&Ps will soon begin publishing second quarter results, which will round out a picture of how the industry fared in the first half of 2019. Shale drillers find themselves at a troubling crossroads. Since 2012, North American oil and gas companies have eviscerated $187 billion in cash flow. Production has soared but the profits have not materialized. For years investors shoveled more capital their way, and the money was dutifully injected into the ground. More oil came up, but again, the financial returns did not follow. Wall Street is losing patience. “Investor sentiment continues to be negative heading into 2Q,” Goldman Sachs wrote in a note. “Meetings with investors this week indicated that generalist portfolio managers are largely hiding and not seeking.” By “hiding,” the bank said that investors were sticking with midstream and integrated companies, and also clean energy. They are “not seeking” […]