Oil Price Rout Has CEOs Courting Accountants Not Wildcatters
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As the energy industry grapples with the worst price slump in a generation, oil executives are touting their accounting savvy over wildcatting skills.
In the days of $100-a-barrel oil, producers were in discovery mode, searching for new oil fields that could swell the future value of their companies. Now, after a 48 percent slide in oil prices, chief executives are focused on more conservative investment decisions, downsizing their workforces and making spending cuts needed to protect dividend payouts and corporate balance sheets.