Exxon Mobil and Chevron Corp have scaled back activity dramatically in the top U.S. shale oil field, where just a year ago the two companies were dominating in the high-desert landscape. The cautious approach of the two largest U.S. oil companies is a major reason domestic oil production has been slow to rebound since prices crashed during pandemic lockdowns in 2020. Production now is about 11 million barrels per day (bpd), down sharply from the record of nearly 13 million bpd hit in late 2019. The share of drilling activity by Exxon and Chevron in the Permian Basin oil field in Texas and New Mexico dropped to less than 5% this month […]