For instance, BP Plc (NYSE: BP) plans to sell $3 billion to $5 billion in assets next year and divest a further $2 billion to $3 billion of assets in 2017.
This isn’t the first time the energy sector has been forced to tighten their belts. Through 1987 to 1997, companies suffered through an extended period of lower prices and responded by cutting costs, which ensured “earnings grew strongly,” according to Bernstein research.
“The biggest oil companies account for a third of the 150 projects Tudor Pickering says have been delayed or canceled, a scale that “suggests that companies will have real growth issues toward the end of the decade,” and some will have to buy smaller rivals to make up for it,” reports Seeking Alpha.
XLE is home to some of the largest U.S. energy companies, including Dow components Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM) and Chevron (NYSE: CVX).
Energy Select Sector SPDR
