This whole thing was foreseeable and put in motion when the upstream and downstream split into 2 companies. Now there is no safety net. Low oil prices help downstream and high oil prices help upstream. Not saying there would not be layoffs (since companies are always ready to do that for any downturn in the industry) but would not be do drastic. I never thought that move was a mistake. It put both companies at risk during ups and downs of oil pricing.
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The split unleashed huge opportunity in downstream that had been held back during Mulva's reign. If the split had not occurred the value of COP would be much less than the combined value of COP / P66 today.
I still remember the split of COP and P66 and COP snubbing their nose at P66. Trust me I'm praying for ALL my COP friends. We were treated like 2nd class citizens by management at the corridor complex before we left. Poor management up the ladder to Ryan should be accountable. They made some very poor decisions even before the split. Some of my very close friends were let go in Calgary, very good people. I pray for all of you and wish the best. Maybe Ryan should give back his salary and options for his poor management.
ConocoPhillips will remain for the sole purpose of speculation associated with the Venezuela claim estimated to be between $0 and $30 billion.
P66 would have an interest in assets associated with aviation, polar tankers and LNG. Assets associated with shale are of no value. The Candadian non-plant assets will be sold for $1. ConocoPhillips cash and credit are sufficient to pay the dividend but nothing else. Asset sales are required to keep the lights on at 600 N Dairy Ashford.
Agree with Anonymous 147622 as far as the spin-off. COP is a hurting unit these days. They probably need to do everything to keep a big target off their back. The day the split occurred and ConocoPhillips spun off Phillips 66, and COP was just upstream and P66 was just downstream, my first thought was "they both better save for a rainy day" because the "teetor totter" effect that upstream and downstream have together was gone. That is, when oil is down, upstream suffers and downstream carries the day, and when oil is up, downstream margins tend to suffer and upstream carries the day. Well, the rainy day for upstream arrived and COP is suffering. P66 however is raking in profits. Now,,, wouldn't it be ironic if P66 bought COP back ? Talk about an easy take over/merger. Plus, those P66er's who have never gotten over Conoco having their name first (after the ConocoPhillips merger) could finally drop the Conoco part all together and it would all be back to just Phillips 66 again, like it all never happened. That would be just genius James. Seriously.
The single biggest mistake made in the last 20 years of Conoco, Phillips, or Burlington was for Jim Mulva to put in motion the spin-off of the downstream JUST BEFORE IT BECAME REALLY VALUABLE. When people look back 10 years from now, that will be the critical inflection point. The nail in the coffin for the new ConocoPhillips was Ryan Lance keeping oil sand when we should have kept the better part of the deepwater instead. We will regret keeping $90/bbl oil sands in the company.