Conoco, Occidental slash 2015 budgets amid crude price collapse

ConocoPhillips (COP.N) and Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY.N) on Thursday slashed exploration spending plans for this year, as the third- and fourth-largest U.S. oil companies attempt to cope with a steep slide in crude prices. On Thursday, crude traded in New York at around $44 a barrel, much lower than many oil and gas projects require to make money. In response to the price collapse, oil and gas companies have made drastic cuts to budgets, idled drilling rigs, and in some cases, cut jobs. ConocoPhillips, which said in December it would cut 2015 spending by 20 percent to $13.5 billion, now expects spending to be scaled back even further - by 15 percent to $11.5 billion.

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