Oil companies dig deep
With an eye on shareholders' returns, oil companies are reining in costs and increasing internally generated cash flows
While investment activity in the upstream oil and gas sector has improved this year, financing conditions have tightened slightly. Investors in the widely-watched US oil patch have become somewhat wary of financing production volume at the expense of shareholder value. Burnt during the oil-price crash that took prices from over $100 a barrel in mid-2014 to less than $30/b in early 2016, equity investors have shown only moderate enthusiasm for financing new production—even in a climate of oil-price recovery, ending the year around $60/b. Finance offerings in the US oil and gas sector, after a strong H1 2017, have slowed to a crawl. Total bond and equity offerings, including midstream and down
Also in this section
10 March 2026
From Venezuela to Hormuz, the US—backed by the most powerful military force ever assembled—is redrawing not only oil and gas flows but also the global balance of energy power
10 March 2026
By shutting the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has cut exports of distillate-rich Middle Eastern crude, jet fuel and diesel, and is holding the energy market hostage
10 March 2026
Eni’s director for global gas and LNG portfolio, Cristian Signoretto, discusses how demand will respond to rising LNG supply, and how the company is expanding its own gas and LNG operations through disciplined, capital-efficient investments
9 March 2026
Petroleum Economist analysis sees increases in output from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Kazakhstan among others before region’s murky descent
