Finances of IOCs Plunged Amid COVID-19 Pandemic in the Second Quarter

Global leading oil companies suffered substantial losses in the second quarter, according to their various financial statements published in recent weeks.

On Thursday, Royal Dutch Shell posted $18.9 billion loss in the second quarter of 2020, far below the profit of $3.5 billion posted in the same quarter of 2019.

This, the company attributed to the plunge in global oil prices in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Shell warned that oil demand remained uncertain, adding that it had cut its exploration plans for this year from about 77 wells to just 22.

This was after the price of Brent crude oil plunged to $15 per barrel during the peak of COVID-19 pandemic while the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil dipped to -$37 per barrel, the lowest on record.

Also, the company said it has reduced its capital expenditure for the year from the initial $25 billion to $20 billion amid a plunge in revenue and demand for the commodity.

Similarly, ExxonMobil reported a $1.1 billion loss, its biggest decline on record. The oil company also announced it would be lowing spending by 30 percent in 2020 to about $23 billion.

Among the various oil companies posting negative financial statements for the quarter was Chevron Corporation, the company reported $8.3 billion decline in the second quarter of the year. The lowest ever posted by the oil giant in almost three decades.

Chevron, therefore, warned that the havoc caused by COVID-19 pandemic in the energy sector might continue to weigh on earnings.

“While demand and commodity prices have shown signs of recovery, they are not back to pre-pandemic levels, and financial results may continue to be depressed into the third quarter of 2020,” Chevron’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Michael Wirth, said.