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* FACTBOX-Oil company spending cuts:
* GRAPHIC-Big Oil's 2020 capex cuts: https://reut.rs/39u1Dh3
* GRAPHIC-Big Oil's rising debt: https://tmsnrt.rs/2U73Jit
LONDON, April 1 (Reuters) - The world's biggest oil and gas
companies are cutting spending this year following a collapse in
oil prices driven by a slump in demand because of the
coronavirus crisis and a price war between top exporters Saudi
Arabia and Russia.
Cuts already announced by eight major oil companies,
including Saudi Aramco and Royal Dutch Shell,
come to a combined $28 billion, or a drop of 20% from their
initial spending plans of $142 billion.
BP cut its 2020 spending plan by 25% and will reduce
output from its U.S. shale oil and gas business, it said on
Wednesday.
Exxon Mobil Corp said it would cut capital
expenditure but has not given specific figures as yet.
Brazilian oil company Petrobras said it was dialling back
short-term production, delaying a dividend payment and trimming
its 2020 investment plan, among other measures aimed at reducing
costs in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
Oil prices have slumped 65% since January to around $25 a
barrel.
Investors say if the current crisis is prolonged, the
spending cuts announced by major oil companies may not be enough
to let them maintain dividends without adding to their already
elevated levels of debt.
The combined debt of Chevron, Total, BP, Exxon
Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell stood at $231 billion at the end of
in 2019, just shy of the $235 billion hit in 2016 when oil
prices also tumbled below $30 a barrel.
(Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Jane
Merriman)
