The first half of 2020 has been brutal for the oil industry: global demand dropped almost a third at one stage, a market share war brought an onslaught of Saudi crude and US prices collapsed below zero for the first time.
Oil producers’ recent second-quarter earnings reflect this damage, with both global supermajors and US independents writing down assets and posting huge losses.
As the charts below show, deep spending cuts point to a sector desperate to shore up battered balance sheets, sacrificing output growth to do so.
From upstream exploration and production to downstream refining, the coronavirus pandemic, price war and unprecedented volatility has caused havoc. Despite its recent recovery, crude is still trading at about a third last year’s average price.
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