Oil & Gas (Long Proven Operators & Production)

In a week where another oil and gas exploration and production company filed for bankruptcy (see Cobalt Energy International), private equity firms are putting millions of dollars of dry powder to work by backing proven operators. Here, Warburg Pincus LLC has made one of the largest private equity investments ever in shale, agreeing to invest $780mm in an E&P team with two meaningful previous exits. Interestingly, this comes as OPEC continues to discuss prolonged oil supply restraint. Not that the frackers care: the International Energy Agency says that OPEC's efforts may be offset by US shale companies increasing production as oil hovers near $60/barrel. Curious: where do readers think oil will be for most of 2018?