U.S. oil production rose by another 246,000 bpd in April, compared to a month earlier, according to the EIA . But the industry outlook continues to darken. Those production gains came even as the rig count has continued to slide. Longer laterals and more intense fracking operations have led to years of soaring output. The problem for shale companies is that the profits have never really arrived . The downturn in oil prices since the fourth quarter of last year was the final straw for some investors. Access to financing has become increasingly closed off, and the mood among shale drillers has soured notably in recent months. The S&P Energy Index is down more than 15 percent in the past year, a time when the broader S&P 500 gained 15.5 percent. “We’ve done pretty much a 180-degree turn,” Brian Lidsky, senior director at energy research firm Drillinginfo, told the […]