By America Hernandez and Stephanie Kelly
October 7, 2025
SUMMARY
Current payouts unsustainable with oil below $80 a barrel
Crude oil prices expected to continue falling
Companies under pressure to cut debt
Reduced buybacks and job cuts announced
PARIS/LONDON, Oct 7 - The five biggest global oil majors are moving to cut costs, jobs and share buybacks as falling oil prices threaten to make shareholder payouts unsustainable without increasing debt, analysts said.
Chevron (CVX.N), ExxonMobil (XOM.N), BP (BP.L), Shell (SHEL.L), and TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), have pledged high returns for the past decade to avert an investor exodus as fossil fuels lost their appeal.
But maintaining those generous payouts, which have topped $100 million annually since 2022, has increasingly been funded by debt as energy prices retreated from highs caused by sanctions and supply disruptions in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-price-fall-turns-up-heat-big-oils-bloated-payouts-2025-10-07/