If oil prices stay high — and especially, if they breach $100 a barrel — the companies are well positioned. However, should oil prices fall and debt levels continue to rise, some companies have boxed themselves into a corner with very generous dividends and share repurchase programs. At the same time, operating cash flow has been declining. "What we're looking at is companies trying to bridge a little gap while operating cash flow is going down," said Mark Young, senior analyst at Evaluate Energy. "Since the end of 2020, operating cash flow has been able to cover all capital spending, dividend payments and share buybacks by itself.

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Persons: Mark Young, Young, Conoco Phillips, Noah Barrett, Warren, Barrett, We're, Matt Smith, Smith, Jason Mountford, Brent, Goldman Sachs, Mike Wirth, Mountford, unprofitably, there's, that's Organizations: Energy, CNBC, Civitas Resources, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Janus, Federal, Warren Pies, 3Fourteen Research, Investors, Conocophillips, Devon Energy, Exxon, Organization of Petroleum, Kplgr, Bank of America, Citigroup Locations: U.S, Wall, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Chevron