Americas Energy & Transition — E&P State of the Business 2Q26: High oil prices realized

We summarize financial and operational performance metrics for the top 36 North American E&Ps to assess the "state of the E&P business" using the most recent quarterly data (2Q26). When we say "state of the business," we refer to an imagined entity created by simply summing up our large sample of E&P companies into a single unit. The report contains a wide range of analyses, a few of which we highlight here. The individual business snapshot for each of the companies considered is shown in the appendix.

The sector once again took advantage of unusually higher commodity prices to deleverage and buy back equity. WTI averaged $96/bbl in 2Q26 while HH averaged $3/mcf, a significant uptick in oil from 1Q26 where WTI was at $72/bbl and HH averaged $5/mcf. Such prices contributed to boosting operating cash where a significant portion was added to cash and used to pay down debt as well as buy back shares. Equity performance also shared in the commodity price increase as weighted performance for