More than three years ago BP made what looked to many like an odd decision: to spin off its US onshore business into a new unit. It would be based in a different office, produce separate figures and be led by a different management. The reason given was that when it came to unconventional oil and gas, that is hydrocarbons that have to be stimulated or fracked out of shale formations, for example, BP had been shown a clean pair of heels by smaller, nimbler competitors. Royal Dutch Shell didn’t have much luck either on shale.
ExxonMobil spent $41 billion buying XTO, a shale pioneer, in 2009 but treated its new plaything with kid gloves, retaining its separate headquarters and identity and even transferring to