Big Oil faces a ‘good sweating’; some aren’t fit

WHEN John D Rockefeller wanted to punish a rival, he cut prices to force them to operate at a loss. The father of the modern oil industry had a name for it: a “good sweating”.

A century later, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (Opec+) is giving Big Oil the modern equivalent of Rockefeller’s time-tested tactics.

Not everyone will be fit enough for it. For the last two-and-a-half years, Big Oil has enjoyed a bonanza, profiting from the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Opec+’s tight control of the market. High prices inflated cash generation, leading to bumper payouts to shareholders – via, above all, buybacks.