Oil major Shell to write down up to $22 billion of assets in second quarter

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell said on Tuesday it will write down the value of its assets by up to $22 billion in the second quarter, after revising down its long-term outlook for oil and gas prices. It comes after the energy company announced in mid-April an ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.

Shell said in a statement to investors that it had reviewed a significant portion of its business given the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the “ongoing challenging commodity price environment.” It said it would take aggregate post-tax impairment charges in the range of $15 billion to $22 billion in the second quarter.

This included a write-down of between $8 billion-$9 billion in its integrated gas unit, a $4 billion-$6 billion write-down in upstream assets, and a $3 billion-$7 billion write-down in oil products across its refining portfolio. Shares of the Anglo-Dutch company were over 1% lower during early morning deals.

Oil major Shell to write down up to $22 billion of assets in second quarter, CNBC, Jun 30