Red Ink Keeps Flowing for U.S. Fracking Sector Disappointing Results for U.S. Frackers Continued Through Q1 2019 Another quarter, another gusher of red ink. Despite investors’ growing demands that oil and gas companies rein in spending, the North American fracking sector once again spent more on drilling than it realized from selling oil and gas. A cross-section of 29 fracking-focused oil and gas companies reported more than $2.5 billion in negative free cash flows in the first quarter of 2019. These results were even worse than in the fourth quarter of 2018, when the same group of fracking-focused enterprises notched $2.1 billion in negative cash flows. This dismal cash flow performance came despite a 16 percent quarter-over-quarter decline in capital expenditures. But operating cash flows fell even faster, widening the industry’s cash flow gap. Free cash flow is a crucial gauge of financial health. Positive free cash flows allow […]