Some of the country's biggest oil companies have a money problem. They've got too much of it.

No tears, of course, will be shed for Big Oil, which often is cast as the heartless profiteer, sneering in delight as we motorists wince with every squeeze of the pump handle.


But the oil companies, too, are in a squeeze. Awash in cash, they're having a hard time spending it.

More than three-fourths of the world's untapped reserves are controlled by countries that either ban or restrict access to their reserves. In other words, the best drilling prospects are taken.

Investment in emerging technology remains tentative because most alternative fuels don't yet offer the returns that big oil companies need to generate.

Companies the size of the majors need big projects with the promise of big returns.

To use the industry vernacular, they're looking for elephants, and the circus has left town.