The world’s biggest oil companies are awash in cash, thanks to rising crude prices. But few, if any, are going on spending sprees, even as the prospect of a global oil shortage looms. Western energy giants including Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM -3.92% , Chevron Corp. CVX 1.86% and Royal Dutch Shell RDS.B -0.29% PLC just posted their best first-quarter profits in years, with most besting a time when crude sold for more than $100 a barrel. Combined, profits at Exxon, Chevron, Shell and Total were $16.8 billion, the highest since 2014. Exxon’s net income rose 16% to $4.7 billion, but production fell 6% to below 4 million barrels a day. Chevron’s profits rose 36% to $3.6 billion, while output rose 6.5% to the equivalent of about 2.9 million barrels a day. Yet despite a 50% surge in prices since last year, drilling budgets at the largest oil-and-gas companies are […]