U.S. oil companies cut capital spending in shale basins

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Large oil producers use high crude prices to boost shareholder returns and reduce debt

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Chevron Corp. and ConocoPhillips cut capital expenditure in the Lower 48 by 10% in the first six months of the year while Occidental Petroleum Corp. cut spending in the Permian Basin by 20% in that period, according to earnings reports.

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The trend is dampening U.S. crude supply growth when President Donald Trump is lambasting the industry for not bringing down gasoline prices at the pump fast enough.

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The U.S. will grow production by about 200,000 barrels a day this year to 13.8 million barrels a day, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration forecasts. But operators aren’t drilling as frenetically as they had when oil prices spiked in the past. After Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine sent oil prices soaring, the U.S. added about 1.1 million barrels a day in 2023, about five times more than this year.

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