Liam Denning, Columnist

Conoco and Saudi Aramco Know What You Want

Investors these days demand oil majors make payout pledges up front.

October 8, 2019 at 1:25 PM UTC

Liam Denning is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy. A former banker, he edited the Wall Street Journal’s Heard on the Street column and wrote the Financial Times’s Lex column.

A customer returns to his vehicle after making a purchase at a ConocoPhillips gas station in Peoria, Illinois, U.S., on Tuesday, July 24, 2018. ConocoPhillips is scheduled to release earnings figures on July 26.Photographer: Bloomberg/Bloomberg

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

Discretion won't get you anywhere with oil investors these days. They want pledges, not plans.

ConocoPhillips is bumping up its dividend by 38%. The company also issued guidance for buybacks next year of $3 billion, down from this year’s expected $3.5 billion. The dividend increase is roughly the size of that $500 million difference. It seems to be worth more, though: Conoco was one of only a few large-cap oil stocks to close up on Monday, adding about $1.7 billion of market cap relative to the sector.1