As I have noticed in one of my articles, cash flow situation does not look wellfor the majors. In the long term, a profitable company must be able to generate enough cash flow to cover its capex and to pay money back to its shareholders (either via dividends or share buybacks). Therefore I included operating cash flow and total capex in my data. Operating cash flow and capital expenditure both refer to the whole company. Capital expenditure is investment in assets as well as in subsidiaries if they are not consolidated. This number does not include any subtractions because of the selling of assets.
When the numbers for all 143 companies are summed up, operational cash flow amounts to $710 billion, while capital expenditure amounts to $706 billion and assets worth $105 billion were sold (a certain part of this amount can be found in capital expenditure of other companies). The industry as a whole seems to be able to fund its investment. However, there are at least two things to consider with regard to these numbers. Firstly, the data refer to 2014, a year that saw an average oil price of more than $96 per barrel. Secondly, cash flows refer to the whole company. As for many companies upstream is only one segment, the numbers are somehow biased. Other, less volatile business fields may introduce some error (e.g. ExxonMobil that also has divisions in refining and chemical engineering)
China's shift to consumer-led growth is accelerating demand for gasoline in the world's biggest energy user, with the fuel on track to challenge the dominance of diesel as an increasing number of middle class consumers buy bigger family cars.
Diesel production is still forecast to be some 33 percent higher than gasoline this year, but the gap is on course to halve in five years, according to calculations based on data from consultancy Wood Mackenzie.
This gap could disappear in the next decade, said a trader, citing general industry estimates.
The importance of diesel and gasoline varies globally, largely due to the usage in cars and industry. Most cars in China use gasoline, a similar picture to North America where almost 90 percent of private vehicles run on gasoline, while in Europe more than half of new cars are diesel powered.