Quarter

Range Resources Corp. turned in a poor second quarter financially, but it continued to drive down costs and find more operational efficiencies to put it in a better position for what management said is an improving natural gas market.

Consol Energy Inc. said Tuesday it has decided to revive its drilling program next month, when it will add back two horizontal rigs in the Marcellus and Utica shales in a move it said is underscored by improving market fundamentals and more than a year of intense cost-cutting.

Customer optimism returned during the second quarter as prices improved, Precision Drilling Corp. CEO Kevin Neveu said, with drillers adding back rigs in both the United States and Canada in anticipation of a potential recovery heading into 2017.

The oil and gas industry has finally “reached the bottom” of the downcycle, Schlumberger Ltd. CEO Paal Kibsgaard told investors Friday during the international oilfield services (OFS) giant’s 2Q2016 earnings call.

During the second quarter, Kinder Morgan Inc. (KMI) continued to rebuild its balance sheet and enhance its credit profile. Increased natural gas throughputs helped. And recently announced joint ventures are expected to bring more improvement during the latter half of the year.

Appalachian operator Eclipse Resources Corp. is raising its 2016 production guidance by 7% after increasing its net daily production by 19% year/year during the second quarter, the company said Monday.

During the second quarter, Sanchez Energy Corp. exceeded the high end of production guidance and reported its best well to date as it further delineated the south-central region of its Catarina acreage in the Eagle Ford Shale.

Boosted by strong hedging and firm transportation portfolios, combined with continued declines in well costs, Antero Resources Corp. maintained a 19% year/year increase in total production for 2Q2016 that included record liquids output.

Belmont and Monroe counties continued to dominate Ohio’s Utica Shale production in the first quarter, with wells in the play’s sweet spot there accounting for much of the increase in the state’s natural gas production, according to data from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).