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Shell posts lowest profit in two decades

2021-02-04T14:43:10.831Z


The corona pandemic is causing billions in losses for Big Oil. In view of the poor prospects, some industry giants are now looking for salvation in new business areas.


Icon: enlarge

Oil drilling rig in the North Sea

Photo: Danny Lawson / DPA

The oil industry, once used to success, can look back on a gloomy year: The weak energy consumption due to the corona pandemic and the low raw material prices have hit the European industry giants Shell and BP as well as the US giants ExxonMobil and Chevron hard.

Weak demand for the world's most important source of energy caused Anglo-Dutch

Shell

profits

last year to

drop to

their lowest levels in at least two decades.

Annual profit fell 71 percent to $ 4.8 billion.

But rivals such as the British

BP

or the US company

Exxon were

hit even harder: Depreciation due to the long-term subdued energy prices broke BP in a loss of 5.7 billion dollars.

ExxonMobil also suffered from write-offs and losses in oil production and refining businesses.

The US group accumulated a loss of 22.4 billion dollars and was the first in the red as a listed company.

The Austrian oil and gas group

OMV

, which is

much smaller in international comparison

, also suffered a loss of profits in the past financial year.

The adjusted surplus collapsed by more than half to 679 million euros.

And the outlook also remains rather bleak in view of the expectation that demand will be subdued in the longer term.

BP management, for example, assumes that oil consumption will only be able to recover partially in the next few years despite decreasing travel restrictions.

The 112-year-old oil and gas company wants to focus entirely on green energy in the future.

By the middle of the century, all emissions from the company's own operations are to be reduced to zero.

Shell also wants to go in this direction and has committed itself to a comprehensive restructuring of the company, which will lose up to 9,000 jobs.

The Viennese OMV, however, is taking a different path.

Last year, she significantly expanded her petrochemicals business with the billion-dollar acquisition of the Borealis Group.

"Chemical products are urgently needed even in a low-CO2 world and are therefore an attractive growth market," CEO Rainer Seele explained his course.

In the energy transition in particular, high-quality plastics would be required - for solar systems and wind turbines, for example, as well as for everyday items such as smartphones or weatherproof clothing.

Icon: The mirror

hej / Reuters

Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2021-02-04

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