The world’s largest oil companies are braced for a prolonged downturn in crude prices — the third in just over a decade — as they seek to reassure investors that they are prepared for the worst.
Executives at ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies and BP have used their quarterly earnings updates to reassure investors that their balance sheets remain strong, and that they will not be rushed into unnecessary reductions in spending and shareholder returns.
“We are seeing significant downward pressure on prices and margins,” ExxonMobil chief Darren Woods told analysts this month, adding that the $472bn company had prepared for a downturn by cutting close to $13bn in costs over five years.