NEW YORK: Exxon Mobil and Chevron suffered losses in the latest quarter as the weakened economic outlook due to the coronavirus pandemic pressures the industry to double down on cost cuts. Exxon Mobil on Friday reported a loss of $1.1 billion in the second quarter, saying it trimmed capital spending during the period and "identified significant potential for additional reductions."
The loss is the biggest since the Exxon-Mobil merger, which was executed in 1999. Meanwhile, Chevron lost $8.3 billion in the same period, as it slashed the value of assets on expectations that commodity prices will stay down longer.
The figures incorporated a downgrade to the value of assets in Venezuela. Weak economic conditions could weigh on Chevron's results "into the third quarter," warned Chief Executive Mike Wirth. "The economic impact of the response to Covid-19 significantly reduced demand for our products and lowered commodity prices," Wirth said.
The losses come on the heels of similar reports Thursday from Royal Dutch Shell, Total and Eni and underscore the depressed state of affairs globally for a sector tied closely to the real economy. During the quarter, Exxon Mobil's revenues fell by more than 50 percent to $32.6 billion, while Chevron's revenues fell by almost two-thirds to $13.5 billion.
Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Darren Woods, who has come under scrutiny from Wall Street analysts for investing too heavily in additional petroleum capacity, said the company does not plan to raise more debt.
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