The timing might be the story here

If you were an oil company trying to hedge production, when would that be?

How about right at the start of a new quarter, with prices at six-year highs and selling early in New York trade at the most liquid time of the day.

Oil companies begin reporting in two weeks and if you map out +$70 oil for a few quarters, the free cash flow some of these companies are cranking out is impressive. The same industry was nearly swamped by debt covenants a year ago so the incentive to hedge is high.

oil chart

It's just a theory but there are certainly companies that could be interested. In the US, Wood Mackenzie reports that just 12 of 40 operators have hedges. There's no data for Canada.

Moreover, the cracks in OPEC may have made some companies jittery about the chance of a price war.