Payout behaviours and CAPEX spend of major international oil and gas companies during oil price fluctuations

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate if the major international oil and gas companies alter their payout behaviours with changing oil price. Secondary, the study analyses trends in CAPEX spend, with the aim to identify countercyclical behaviours, that could cater for competitive advantages in contracting of field development activities. Utilising published financial data from the last 20 years, payout ratios and CAPEX spend is analysed, based on oil price fluctuations. Clear evidence of alterations in payout ratios have been found in this work, with a general trend of increasing spread in payout ratios as the oil price drops. This is in line with existing research, and is driven by reduced net income, in some cases net losses, in combination with sustained cash dividends. No significant evidence of countercyclical CAPEX spend has been found. The development of a common framework for studies involving negative payout ratios, that retains the necessary data granularity, would cater for significant developments in this research domain.