The oil sector is slipping into the red after years of fat profits as the > steep slump in oil prices shows little sign of ending, with this quarter shaping up to be the worst since the downturn started.
The world’s top oil companies have >struggled to cope with the halving of oil prices since June 2014.
They have cut spending repeatedly, made thousands of job cuts and scrapped projects.
The lower-for-longer > outlook for oil prices took its heaviest toll yet in the third quarter as oil companies again reported a dramatic drop in income.
Some saw results swing into the loss column, and the industry had billions of dollars in impairment charges.
“This downcycle poses significant challenges,” Jeff Sheets, ConocoPhillips’ Chief Financial Officer, said.With 10 of the top 20 European and North American energy producers having reported third-quarter results, seven have posted losses.
These include Royal Dutch Shell, Italy’s Eni and in North America Occidental Petroleum Corp, Anadarko Petroleum Corp and Hess Corp, Suncor and ConocoPhillips.
Shell posted a third-quarter loss of $7.4 billion, hit by a massive $8.2 billion charge after halting its exploration in Alaska’s Arctic sea and a costly oil sands project in Canada.
