For evidence of just how savage the oil industry downturn has become, consider Royal Dutch Shell’s decision to axe a Canadian oil sands project this week. Unusually — and in contrast to the $200bn-plus of future spending shelved by energy companies since last year’s crude price collapse — work on Carmon Creek was well under way. This was no flight of fancy. Shell had already taken the decision to invest: it was clearing the site, procuring major equipment, building accommodation for staff, and starting work on wells. Its late move to down tools, says Anish Kapadia of energy investment bank Tudor Pickering Holt, shows how companies “are getting yet more aggressive on capex cuts and return expectations” — and suggests Shell is “moving towards the ‘lower for longer’ camp” on oil prices. Shell, though, is far from alone. It may have made the biggest U-turn on a new project since the market rout, but this week’s third-quarter results show the speed at which the industry is reacting to the market collapse. As cash flow dwindles, the oil majors are scrambling to cut costs in order to maintain their dividends.