The six largest international oil companies have shored up profits and cash flows this year, reporting incomes at their highest levels since the 2014 oil price crash. Cost cuts, conservative price assumptions in spending plans, and investment cherry-picking has paid off. Now the six biggest of Big Oil—Exxon, Chevron, Shell, BP, Total, and Eni–are in a good place to remain resilient at $60 a barrel Brent Crude , thanks to diversified and robust portfolios, according to ratings agency S&P Global Ratings. Even when oil prices hit four-year highs in October, the largest publicly traded international oil companies didn’t change their underlying price assumptions for future investment in projects—they continue to conservatively plan for a world of oil prices at $50 to $60. “Supermajors and these guys, the big players, the IOCs, they reckon they can break even with Brent at $50 (per barrel),” Simon Redmond, senior director of corporate […]