The two main companies oil companies of the United States, Exxon Mobil and Chevron, recorded the worst results in their recent history in the second quarter of 2020 and together they added losses of US $ 9.3 billion as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the demand for raw materials .
Between April and June, months in which mobility restrictions were imposed and businesses were paralyzed in United States and Europe, Exxon Mobil It lost US $ 1,080 million and had a 53% drop in sales, to US $ 32,605 million, while its operating activities did not generate cash, it reported.
For his part, Chevron lost in that same period US $ 8,270 million, largely due to various charges amounting to some US $ 5,200 million, including the deterioration of its business in Venezuela; It had a 65% drop in sales, to US $ 13,494 million, and its operating activities generated only US $ 100 million, according to its accounts.
This is the second consecutive quarter in the red for Exxon and the first for Chevron, which show low energy prices – the barrel of Texas has recovered slightly but is worth 34% less than at the beginning of the year – and cuts have been made and adjusted their businesses to weather the crisis of coronavirus.
Exxon Mobil It produced 3.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, 7% less than last year, while reducing its natural gas production by 12%, reflecting “economic and government restrictions.”
Its chief executive, Darren Woods, said that “the pandemic and global oversupply conditions have led to low prices, margins and sales volumes, ”which the company has attempted to offset by reducing short-term spending and reorganizing the business, with“ additional ”adjustment plans that it will report later.
Chevron produced 2.99 million barrels per day of oil equivalent product, 3% less year-on-year, and its average price was about US $ 19, well below the US $ 52 paid last year.
Its chief executive, Michael Wirth, alluded to the “economic impact of the response to COVID-19”, in reference to the activity stop orders, on the demand for crude oil, and warned that although there are “signs of recovery”, the economy it is far from the “prepademic” levels and the results are expected to continue in red in the third quarter
“Due to the uncertainty associated with the economic recovery and the large supply of oil and gas, we revised downwards our outlook on the price of raw materials, which has resulted in deterioration of assets and other charges,” he added. .
In this sense, he highlighted a significant charge of US $ 2.6 billion for the “deterioration” of his investments in Venezuela, where it is the last major US oil company that continues to operate, although the Administration of Donald Trump it required him to gradually cease his activity in April.
Chevron, which cited the “operating environment” and the “uncertainty” about the possibility of recovering its business in Venezuela, assured that “it will continue to fulfill its contractual obligations under the current sanctions and the general license, with the intention of returning” to normality in the future.
It also subtracted from its results US $ 1,800 million associated with the drop in the prices of “commodities”, US $ 780 million for severance payments, which are part of a plan to dismiss some 6,000 employees (13% of its workforce ) and about $ 440 million for a weakened dollar.
In the accumulated of the year, these emblematic companies of the “Big Oil” already incur losses: Exxon loses US $ 1,690 million, a hard setback against the profits of US $ 5,480 million in the same period last year; and Chevron loses US $ 4,671 million, compared to the US $ 6,954 million profit of that tranche in 2019.
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