The massive debt accumulated by the U.S. Shale Industry is now decimating company profits. As company debts and interest rates rise, these shale producers interest expense also continues to increase. Debt service is not only cutting into company profits, but it also takes a great deal of oil and gas production to cover this expense. For example, 16 of the top U.S. shale energy companies racked up a hefty $5 billion interest payment. The company with the highest annual interest expense is Anadarko Energy at a stunning $932 million in 2017: Devon Energy came in a distant second at $514 million while Chesapeake took the third spot at $425 million. The 16 shale energy companies shown on the right-hand side of the chart are listed from highest to lowest annual interest expense for 2017. And, it is a simple rule-of-thumb that the higher the annual interest expense, the higher […]