The Financial Post reports in its Tuesday, Oct. 29, edition that weaker crude prices and refining margins are likely prompting four of the five supermajor oil companies to borrow for $15-billion in share buybacks this quarter, casting doubt on the long-term sustainability of these payouts (all figures U.S.). A Bloomberg dispatch to the Post reports that Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies, and BP are expected to report a 12-per-cent decline in earnings from the previous quarter, totalling a combined $24.4-billion. As a result, all of the companies, except Shell, will not be able to cover their dividends and buybacks with free cash flow. Declining cash flow is putting shareholder return pledges under strain. Crude prices have dropped 17 per cent from this year's high amid escalating Middle East tensions. Third quarter profits are expected to be half of 2022's record highs, the lowest since 2021. Janus Henderson manager Noah Barret says: "The scales are tilting more bearish for oil prices as we look ahead. They'll likely have to lean on the balance sheet if they want to maintain the current pace of buybacks." Bloomberg says borrowing to buy back shares is not uncommon in the oil business.