IOCs put on show of strength in bond markets
Majors have issued bonds and cut expenditure in equal measure, ensuring a buoyant market for their debt
Recent debt issuance by IOCs could be seen as a muscle-flexing exercise as much as a move to bolster balance sheets. Italy’s Eni became the latest company to approve the issue of bonds on 23 April, worth up to $4.3bn, while revealing a 30pc reduction in capex for 2020 and a 30-35pc cut for 2021. The dividend issue was kicked down the road, with the company saying it would provide an update in July. BP, Spain’s Repsol and Shell had already issued bonds in April, with an RBC research note suggesting BP could spend the next 20 months reducing a debt-to-capital ratio that reached 36pc in the first quarter. ExxonMobil and Chevron have eschewed the debt markets so far this year, although the latte
Also in this section
17 February 2026
The 25th WPC Energy Congress, taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 26–30 April 2026, will bring together leaders from the political, industrial, financial and technology sectors under the unifying theme “Pathways to an Energy Future for All”
17 February 2026
Siemens Energy has been active in the Kingdom for nearly a century, evolving over that time from a project-based foreign supplier to a locally operating multi-national company with its own domestic supply chain and workforce
17 February 2026
Eni’s chief operating officer for global natural resources, Guido Brusco, takes stock of the company’s key achievements over the past year, and what differentiates its strategy from those of its peers in the LNG sector and beyond
16 February 2026
As the third wave of global LNG arrives, Wood Mackenzie’s director for Europe gas and LNG, Tom Marzec-Manser, discusses with Petroleum Economist the outlook for Europe’s gas market in 2026
