With oil and gas prices at multi-year highs, U.S. shale producers are poised to deliver the strongest earnings since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, so long as they didn’t lock in sales tied to much lower prices. Sky-high oil and gas prices will fill energy companies’ bottom line, rewarding investors who hung on through the pandemic. U.S. crude averaged roughly $71 a barrel, almost 80 percent higher than year-ago levels, and natural gas sold for over $5 per million British Thermal Units (mmBTU), a price not seen since 2014. The biggest oil and gas producers kick off results this week, with reports from EQT Corp. and Hess Corp. Continental Resources, Pioneer Natural Resources, and EOG Resources will report the week after. Pioneer’s earnings per share could hit $3.94, up from 17 cents last year, and Continental earnings are estimated at $1.20, versus a loss of 16 cents a share …