Oil Giants’ Production Cuts Come to 1 Million Bpd as They Post Massive Writedowns

By Reuters: Aug. 9, 2020, 1:18 a.m. ET

(Reuters) – The world’s five largest oil companies collectively cut the value of their assets by nearly $50 billion in the second quarter, and slashed production rates as the coronavirus pandemic caused a drastic fall in fuel prices and demand.

The dramatic reductions in asset valuations and decline in output show the depth of the pain in the second quarter. Fuel demand at one point was down by more than 30% worldwide, and still remains below pre-pandemic levels. read more

Exclusive: BP poised to sell ‘stranded assets’ even if oil prices rally

By Ron Bousso and Dmitry Zhdannikov: AUGUST 7, 2020

…There will be no way back for the British energy company once it has offloaded its so-called stranded oil and gas assets.

LONDON (Reuters) – BP is preparing to sell a large chunk of its oil and gas assets even if crude prices bounce back from the COVID-19 crash because it wants to invest more in renewable energy, three sources familiar with BP’s thinking said. read more

Translation of an article published today by the Dutch FT, the FD Het Financieele Dagblad 2020)

Shell has to pay for its openness

Carel Grol

In Brief

• All oil companies are hit by the low oil price.
• Nevertheless, American companies perform better than European companies, with Shell as the largest descender.
• One explanation is that Shell makes more predictions, and is therefore punished more harshly. American companies say less, so they can count on less.

Shell is experiencing an annus horribilis. The oil and gas company’s share price has halved this year. The oil price has suffered from the massive drop in demand due to corona and disagreement between Saudi Arabia and Russia over the reduction of oil production. Shell wrote off billions and cut the dividend for the first time since World War II. But remarkably, the American oil majors are doing much better in the exact same market. read more

Shell CEO Ben van Beurden has said the energy giant will “resize as appropriate” as it moves to become a “simpler and leaner” organisation.

by Allister Thomas: 30/07/2020, 12:20 pm

Speaking on a conference call, Mr van Beurden said designs to restructure and streamline the firm are now being drawn up, meaning it “will end up, probably, with fewer people”.

Shell, which posted second quarter losses of $18.1billion, currently employs around 83,000 people worldwide, with “really difficult decisions” already being made such as voluntary severance programmes and freezing bonuses to reduce costs. read more

The Anglo-Dutch company reported adjusted earnings of $638 million for the second quarter of 2020. That compared with net profit of $3.5 billion over the same period a year earlier and $2.9 billion in the first three months of 2020.

Analysts had warned that “Big Oil” companies, referring to the world’s largest energy majors, were likely to report “horrendous” second-quarter results as coronavirus lockdown measures coincided with an unparalleled demand shock.

The ongoing economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic had prompted Shell to announce that it expected to incur write-downs of up to $22 billion in the second quarter. read more

Bloomberg: Shell Says U.K. Can Bring Forward Gasoline Car Sale Ban to 2030

By Rakteem Katakey: 17 July 2020, 14:49 BST

• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set a 2035 deadline
• ‘Right policy and incentives’ could push it earlier: Lynch

Royal Dutch Shell Plc expects the U.K. can end the sale of gasoline and diesel vehicles in just a decade, as the nation attempts to eliminate emissions by the middle of the century.

The ban can be brought forward to 2030 with “the right policy and incentives,” Sinead Lynch, the head of oil giant Shell’s operations in Britain said on LinkedIn. That’s five years earlier than the deadline set by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in February, and also beats the 2032 date that Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said may be possible to achieve. read more

FT: Investors pull green levers to reshape energy sector

Selective stockpicking, boycotts and engagement are all methods gaining ground among environmental stakeholders

Investing in energy is not what it was. Oil and gas companies like BP and Royal Dutch Shell were traditionally reliable dividend payers, the stalwart of any respectable income investor’s portfolio. The coronavirus pandemic has thrown that status into doubt. In April, Shell cut its dividend for the first time since 1945 as the oil price slumped, while some analysts have predicted BP could cut its dividend as early as next month as it struggles with the slowdown in economic activity this year.  read more

Hellenic Shipping News Worldwide Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and International Shipping: Extracts from above headlined article published in Oil & Companies News 13/07/2020

The global oil and gas industry has crashed. In mid-June, BP – formerly British Petroleum – slashed the value of its assets by US$17.5bn and revealed plans to cut its workforce by 15%. It forecast the price of oil would be a third lower than expected for decades to come and said it may be forced to leave new fossil fuel discoveries in the ground. read more

Virus crisis threatens to set back oil platform decommissioning

By Benoît PELEGRIN: July 12, 2020: LONDON

Oil companies are being forced to cut spending due to a fall in global oil prices, threatening funds earmarked to dismantle dated off-shore rigs, despite environmental risks.

A drastic drop in revenue caused by the coronavirus outbreak has seen majors such as Total, Royal Dutch Shell and BP having to cut or defer expenditure by billions of dollars.

Decommissioning platforms is not “one of their top priorities”, according to Sonya Boodoo, an analyst at Rystad Energy. read more

‘Divest or we escalate’, Extinction Rebellion warns University of Cambridge

Extinction Rebellion is ready for an extensive campaign next month to encourage the University of Cambridge to divest fully from investments in fossil fuel companies.

Extinction Rebellion Cambridge (XRC) and Extinction Rebellion Youth Cambridge (XRYC) are “beginning their campaign by delivering their demands to the university and the non-divested colleges”.

The activist group add that “if divestment isn’t announced by the end of July”, they “will begin an escalating campaign of non-violent direct action until it is”. read more

Big Oil’s Investment Risk Is Spiking

By David Messler – Jul 07, 2020, 5:00 PM CDT

The major integrated oil companies: Shell,(NYSE:RDS.A, RDS.B); ExxonMobil, (NYSE:XOM); BP, (NYSE:BP); Chevron, (NYSE:CVX), and a few others, so named for their vertical stewardship of the hydrocarbon molecule from initial extraction to final refining, have come under increasingly accurate fire from climate change advocates. In the past organizations like Greenpeace and a host of other conservation organizations, have used direct measures to interdict oil company operations. Measures that were flashy, as they drew a lot of attention from the global press, but over the long haul did little to achieve their goals of stopping oil and gas exploration. read more

Virus crisis threatens to set back oil platform decommissioning

London (AFP) – Oil companies are being forced to cut spending due to a fall in global oil prices, threatening funds earmarked to dismantle dated off-shore rigs, despite environmental risks.

A drastic drop in revenue caused by the coronavirus outbreak has seen majors such as Total, Royal Dutch Shell and BP having to cut or defer expenditure by billions of dollars.

Decommissioning platforms is not “one of their top priorities”, according to Sonya Boodoo, an analyst at Rystad Energy. read more

Ron Bousso: JULY 7, 2020

LONDON (Reuters) – The world’s top oil and gas companies locked in cheap borrowing rates to raise a record amount of debt in the second quarter of 2020 and boost cash reserves as a buffer against a collapse in revenues because of COVID-19.

The dash for debt piles pressure on company balance sheets and the issue is particularly acute for BP (BP.L) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L). Already burdened by high levels of borrowing, they also face the disruption of a major shift towards renewables and low-carbon. read more

English translation of an article published today by the FD.

“I don’t want to survive this pandemic with a company that is no longer capable of anything”

Bert van Dijk

The corona crisis is forcing Shell to restructure the company. At the same time, CEO Ben van Beurden must chart the course for a low-carbon future. What choices does he make and why can’t things go a bit faster? “We cannot organize ourselves anti-economically. We don’t have that mandate.”

Ceo Ben van Beurden leads Shell from home during the corona crisis. ‘The good thing about this period is that you can help with homework.’ Photo: David van Dam for FD

In brief

• Shell CEO Ben van Beurden has to guide the oil and gas multinational through various storms.
• In a long conversation with the FD, he explains why he couldn’t help but decrease the dividend.
• He also outlines the dilemma of developing new revenue models, while the old revenue model cannot be immediately discarded.

Last week, Shell CEO Ben van Beurden reduced the value of Shell’s assets by nearly $ 20 billion last week. The massive write-off is necessary because the corona pandemic has hit the global demand for oil and gas heavily and uncertainty about the future has increased. read more

Reuters: Reporting by Matthew Green in London, Valerie Volcovici in Washington and Emma Farge in Geneva; Editing by Katy Daigle and Lisa Shumaker: JULY 3, 2020

LONDON/WASHINGTON/GENEVA (Reuters) – Climate change may be having its day in court.

With the slow pace of international climate negotiations, lawyers from Switzerland to San Francisco are increasingly filing lawsuits demanding action.

And they are getting creative — using new legal arguments to challenge companies and governments before a judge. read more

One big question emerging from the pandemic is whether it will speed up the global shift away from oil. Life under lockdown gave a taste of a world that burns less petroleum, with consumption down by about a quarter and city dwellers from Los Angeles to New Delhi relishing the cleaner air. As restrictions eased, things weren’t exactly returning to normal. Many workers had given up on commuting and there was talk that air travel might never recover. On the other hand, rock-bottom oil prices and the desire to avoid crowded public transport had some people driving to work for the first time or taking road trips instead of flying. read more