The $30 billion retreat: How the supermajors are rewriting the growth playbook
28 August 2026
Every supermajor has now cut its low-carbon investment guidance. Against 2023 plans, combined cumulative spending to 2028 is down by more than $30 billion, and not one company in the peer group is holding its previous share.
That is one finding from the August 2026 Supermajor Benchmarking Report, our comparison of ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, TotalEnergies, Eni, and Equinor on the metrics that decide capital allocation.
Returns: Equinor leads on ROIC at about 15%, BP trails at 3% to 4%.
Resources: ExxonMobil holds 61 billion boe, Shell jumps to third on ARC Resources.
Payouts: group distributions fall to about $17 per boe in 2026, from above $22 in 2023.
New growth: Chevron signs a 2.67 GW gas-to-data-centre deal with Microsoft.