Write-downs put spotlight on energy majors’ scattered oil price outlooks
A series of huge write-downs among energy majors triggered by lower assumptions for future oil prices has put a spotlight on the sector’s scattered price outlooks.
On Monday, Eni announced a 3.5 billion euro ($3.95 billion) impairment on the value of its assets after revising down its long-term oil price outlook.
That followed Royal Dutch Shell’s $22 billion write-down last week and BP’s $17.5 billion hit in June.
While break-even prices for new development projects typically lie below future oil price assumptions, these write-downs have raised questions about the risk of stranded assets in the oil and gas sector.
Here is a graphic showing the varying oil price assumptions among European energy majors:
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Shadia Nasralla and Ron Bousso; Editing by Jan Harvey)