ExxonMobil continues to exhibit the confidence befitting the world’s biggest western publicly listed oil company. It committed today to $28bn in capital spending in 2010 and $25bn – $30bn in investment per year, on average, through the year 2014.

This is significant, when one looks around at what is going on in the rest of the sector.

ConocoPhillips and Devon Energy are selling billions of dollars in assets as they restructure. And Chevron said this week it would cut a further 2,000 positions in its refining and marketing division as part of a wider plan to reduce its global downstream workforce by 3,900 employees – or about 20 per cent – over two years.

Update: More recent details of the $7bn Devon deal, and its Canadian oil sands side-deal.

BP plans to pay about $6bn for oil and gas assets put up for sale by Devon Energy of the US, particularly offshore acreage in the Gulf of Mexico and Brazil, taking advantage of its financial strength to make an important strategic move.

As of midnight London time, a deal was close, according to people with knowledge of the negotiations, and could come on Thursday.

For Devon, the deal looks pretty good. It has moved sharply on the sale, which had been expected to take until the end of the year. The price is hard to assess without the full details, but it does not look bad: BP is paying the mid-point of the $4.5bn-$7.5bn price that Devon hoped to raise, and it is not yet clear whether it is taking all of the assets that have been put up for sale. The disposal will free up capital to enable Devon to invest in its onshore US and Canadian business, particularly its position in the booming unconventional gas industry.

However, it is probably more significant for BP.