The oil companies in 1998

The drop in the price of crude oil has had a strong impact on oil companies earnings in 1998: for the first three-quarters, profits were down by an average 30 %. The performance levels attained by the refining-distribution activities, generally on a upwards trend, were not able to compensate for the sharp decrease in upstream earnings. Given these unfavorable circumstances, a number of companies are cutting back on capital investment projects. Unable to make further internal cost reductions on the same scale as before, oil companies are seeking to realize productivity gains through regional partnerships or large-scale mergers that, to some extent, could modify the traditional oil industry ranking