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The Big 5 of the oil business are spending less on exploration despite being flush with cash, a new study has found.

The study by Rice University’s Baker Institute said the five — Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Chevron and ConocoPhillips — spent less in real terms on exploration compared to the early 1990s, despite a four-fold increase in operating cash flows. The trend, says the study, puts the companies’ long-term oil reserves at risk. “The handwriting is on the wall. The oil majors are not replacing reserves,” said Amy Myers Jaffe, co-author of the report. “It’s as if they are slowly liquidating their long-term asset base. They may see a declining rate of production over time and eventually that is bad news for both their shareholders and consumers.”