Oil and gas output from the world’s top oil companies – Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Shell, BP, and Total – is set to drop by nearly 11% in the second quarter of 2020, to levels not seen in almost two decades, according to Reuters’ calculations.
The output cuts, provoked by an unprecedented drop in oil consumption due to Covid-19 restrictions, have led to a surge in supplies and a collapse in crude prices.
In response, the five oil majors have recently outlined plans to reduce production, with BP cutting its US shale oil output by 70,000 barrels of oil per day in 2020; Exxon and Chevron reducing oil output, with plans for combined global closures of 800,000 barrels per day; and Total’s production set to be at least 5% lower on average in 2020, at 2.95 to 3 million boed.