Rising oil prices and spending cuts over the past two to three years have improved the cash flow position for many of the oil majors, lessening the prospects of a deeper debt spiral, credit downgrades and dividend reductions. As recently as a few months ago, debt among the largest oil companies was rising at a worrying pace , with ExxonMobil – usually considered the most financially sound out of its peers – reported an eye-watering $46 billion of debt at the end of the third quarter in 2016. Exxon even lost its coveted AAA credit rating last year as ratings agencies warned about its growing leverage. The other oil majors were not faring much better. Shell has a whopping $78 billion in debt, having borrowed heavily to finance its $50 billion purchase of BG Group. Chevron had $45 billion in debt at the end of the third quarter. All […]