Steve, Yes, the US oil companies that are hedged around $80 did. 2015 Low oil prices is part of the plan to aid the US economy and global economies. The world has to be healthy enough to buy US oil and gas exports or it won’t do us any good to produce. Once the developed and emerging countries are showing strength, the price of Brent oil will rise. Brent is the global oil price and WTI is the US oil price. US oil and gas companies need a certain price WTI to keep producing while Brent stays low enough for the world economies to grow. In 2014, WTI averaged about 8 dollars less than Brent, but is expected to average 3 to 4 less in 2015. EIA STEO report for January 2015:
"As noted in this month’s STEO, with WTI crude oil prices projected to start rising in this year’s second half, drilling activity is expected to increase again as companies take advantage of lower costs for both leasing acreage and drilling services, causing production to resume rising at a relatively low WTI crude oil price.
Drilling activity is expected to increase in 2016 and US production should rise to its second highest daily output level since record production was set in 1970, Sieminski noted." http://www.ogj.com/articles/2015/01/eia-continued-global-oil-stock-…