- The oil supermajors may struggle to make their dividend payouts as the worst oil downturn in a generation stretches into its third year, Macro Risk Advisors chief energy strategist Chris Kettenmann tells Bloomberg, singling out Exxon Mobil’s (NYSE:XOM) $12B in annual payouts as susceptible.
- Without a recovery in oil prices from the current sub-$50/bbl level, Kettenmann says major energy explorers will need to increasingly cannibalize drilling budgets to ensure they have enough cash to cover dividend commitments next year.
- The world’s five largest publicly-traded oil explorers - XOM, Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Total (NYSE:TOT) and BP - are on track to distribute more than $40B in dividends during the next 12 months.