Oil industry executives are surely pleased with themselves this year, with both large and small companies reporting improved financials after years of struggling. A Reuters survey finds a significant shift towards profitability for the U.S. shale industry after years of rising debt and negative cash flow. Reuters analyzed 32 independent shale companies, and about a third of them were cash flow positive in the third quarter. That may not seem all that great, but only three companies out of those 32 had positive cash flow a year earlier. In fact, years of cost cutting is paying off for many companies, many of which have aimed to breakeven with oil prices at $50 or $60 per barrel. Not all are there, to be sure, but the increase of oil prices this year pushed many into profitable territory. The oil majors, on the other hand, are the most profitable they have […]