Historic oil price collapse sees first major energy company cut its dividend

Norway’s Equinor announced Thursday it will cut its quarterly dividend payment to shareholders by two-thirds, potentially paving the way for other oil majors to follow suit over the coming days.

The state-controlled oil company said its first-quarter cash pay-out to shareholders would be $0.09 per share, down from $0.27 in the final three months of 2019. That reflects a quarter-on-quarter reduction of 67%. The move makes Western Europe’s biggest crude producer the first oil major to cut its dividend this earnings season.

France’s Total will announce whether they also plan to cut dividends on Friday, with Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell scheduled to announce earnings on April 30. Stateside, Chevron and Exxon Mobil will report their latest quarterly figures on May 1.

It comes shortly after a historic oil price plunge earlier this week. The May contract of U.S. West Texas Intermediate plunged below zero to trade in negative territory for the first time in history on Monday.

Trading volume was thin given it was the day before the contract’s expiration date, but the move lower was unprecedented nonetheless.

Historic oil price collapse sees first major energy company cut its dividend, CNBC, Apr 23