Oil majors' US$100 hangover hurts profit as cost cuts fall short

London

THE world's biggest oil companies, set to report their worst quarterly earnings in more than a decade, are finding their cost-cutting efforts have not matched the decline in crude prices over the past two years.

While producers have been deferring projects, eliminating jobs and freezing salaries, the process will take three years to complete, according to Barclays plc's Lydia Rainforth. In the meantime, profits are being hammered.