Rising oil and natural gas prices are driving a rally in U.S. energy stocks, signaling the beginning of a new phase in the ongoing story of America’s energy dominance as companies look to tap debt markets to expand operations.
While the latest uptick in prices won’t completely make up for the slow recovery rate this year, the outlook for the U.S. oil and gas sector in the coming year is very bright indeed. Oil prices are now at their highest levels in the past two and a half years, with U.S. benchmark crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) recently breaching the milestone $60-a-barrel mark for the first time since June 2015.