Oil Majors Are Preparing For A Difficult Period

The piles of cash Big Oil made from last year's energy crunch have become the stuff of legend. They have also become a weapon in the hands of governments that like to have a scapegoat handy. The weapon hasn't been particularly effective, whether used to threaten the oil industry with windfall profit taxes or deployed by activists to add more detail to the already demonized image of the industry.

The industry, meanwhile, has kept its head down and its capital spending lower. The capital discipline trend appears to have become entrenched in oil and…