Three major oil firms—two from the United States and one from Europe—indicated over the past couple of weeks how they plan to spend some of their cash in order to create more shareholder value. And the paths that ExxonMobil, Hess Corporation, and Total SA have chosen couldn’t have been more different. Of course, the various approaches depend on the company priorities, size, and shareholder base. According to Bloomberg Gadfly columnist Liam Denning , France’s Total may have made the smartest choice in the near term by spending US$450 million to buy low-cost reserves in Libya. Exxon moved to lift its capital expenditure in an effort to fund an aggressive growth plan through 2025. Hess announced US$1 billion in share buybacks to appease activist shareholders. Two weeks ago, Total bought the 16.33-percent stake of the Waha oil concessions held by U.S. Marathon Oil Corporation for US$450 million . The acquisition […]