Five oil giants set a record net loss in US dollars

Oslo, February 23, 2021, according to the US drilling website, rystad, a well-known Norwegian energy research and business intelligence company, pointed out that last year, the world’s five largest oil giants ExxonMobil, BP, shell, Chevron and daudal suffered a record loss of $76 billion.

Rystad pointed out that as these super oil giants reassess their strategies and focus on energy transformation and reducing their dependence on oil, the net loss of $69 billion mainly comes from asset impairment and write off. Rystad pointed out that the five oil giants all suffered net losses last year, with ExxonMobil losing the most, reaching US $22.4 billion, followed by shell and BP, with a loss of more than US $20 billion. Rystad said total and Chevron performed better than their peers, with net losses of $5bn to $6bn.

Rystad stressed that all oil giants raised their leverage ratios last year, while BP and shell both raised their leverage ratios to more than 30% at the end of last year. Rystad pointed out that ExxonMobil and Chevron both increased their debt by a record amount last year, increasing their net debt by $19 billion and $18 billion respectively. Rystad added that the two oil giants increased their leverage by 10% last year.

Rystad revealed that compared with the previous year, the total oil and gas production of the five oil giants fell by nearly 5% or 900000 barrels of oil equivalent per day last year. Lower emission targets and the need for cleaner energy greatly affect the long-term production prospects of oil giants.

“Last year was undoubtedly an unprecedented test for oil and gas giants,” rystad upstream analyst Rahul Chaudhury said in a company statement

“Demand is expected to recover in the near future as demand rebounds and oil prices break the $60 mark. However, the key to the success of the five oil giants in the next decade will be to strengthen their business in more resilient regions, restructure and adjust their size to meet market demand, and repay their high debt levels. ” That’s what Chaudhry said.