Chevron and Exxon Mobil released their Q2 results on Friday that reveal the extent of the coronavirus pandemic on oil demand. The bloodbath witnessed in the oil sector has hurt earnings for two of America’s largest oil producers.
Exxon lost $1.1 billion in the second quarter attributed to the global pandemic, oversupply in the sector that has seen lower prices, margins, and sales volumes. In the quarter, Exxon’s oil and gas production fell 7 percent to 3.6 million barrels per day prompted by production cut to shield against oil price crash.
On the other hand, Chevron posted a loss of $8.3 billion for the second quarter of 2020 compared to earnings of $4.3 billion in Q2.2019. Chairman Michael Wirth says that the losses were occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic which dampened demand for Chevron’s products and lowered commodity prices.
There was a rise in impairments as Chevron revised downwards its commodity price outlook. Other global energy firms that have written down their oil and gas properties in the second quarter include Total, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, and Eni.
The last five months have seen oil prices plummet below zero but have rebound to around $40 per barrel. Global net oil equivalent production in Q2.2020 was 2.99 million per day which was 3 percent lower from Q2.2019 and 8 percent lower from the first quarter of 2020. The decrease in production was due to OPEC+ restrictions and cuts associated with market conditions.
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