The largest publicly-traded oil companies in the world have been “living beyond their means” for years. Since 2010, the five largest oil majors have spent vastly more than they have generated when including shareholder payouts. ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron, Total, and Royal Dutch Shell have dished out a combined $536 billion in dividends and share buybacks since 2010, a figure that far exceeds the $329 billion in free cash flow over the same period, according to a new report from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). That comes out to a gap of $207 billion, or about 39 percent of the total that was given to shareholders. The shortfall had to be made up somehow. According to IEEFA, the oil majors bridged the gap by selling off assets and taking on debt. “The oil majors are consistently under-performing the market and may believe that shareholders won’t notice, […]