Fresh from closing a major corporate acquisition, ConocoPhillips has set a 2021 capital budget of $5.5 billion, 17% higher than last year, that will maintain its production flat at 1.5 million boe/d pro forma, the company’s top executives said Feb. 2. More than half, or 55%, of its $5.5 billion capex this year is allocated for the Lower 48, with the rest spread across our a set of diverse global assets that include Alaska, Canada, Europe, North Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call. “We set the budget [at that level] for two principal reasons,” […]