Oil and natural gas executives working in northern Louisiana, southern New Mexico and across the state of Texas are optimistic that commodity prices will continue to climb this year, along with activity, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

The Dallas Fed, as it is better known, on Wednesday issued its second quarter survey based on responses of 152 energy firms headquartered in the Eleventh District. Data was collected June 9-17. Of the 152 firms responding, 101 were exploration and production (E&P) firms and 51 were oilfield services (OFS) firms.

“Six-month outlooks improved notably, with the index moving up from 70.6 last quarter to 71.9 — the highest reading in the survey’s five-year history,” according to researchers. “While uncertainty...