OSLO: Norway’s Equinor wrote off $2.93 billion from the value of its assets after cutting its long-term oil price forecast on Thursday, betting the pandemic and a shift away from fossil fuels will have a lasting impact on markets.
Including the asset write-off, Equinor posted a net loss of $2.12 billion in the third quarter.
The energy major’s adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) fell to $780 million in July-September from $2.59 billion in the same period of 2019, lagging the $1.03 billion predicted in a poll of 24 analysts compiled by Equinor.
“Our financial results are impacted by weak prices as regions across the world are still severely affected by the pandemic,” outgoing Chief Executive Eldar Saetre said in a statement.
The write-off follows similar decisions by BP, Royal Dutch Shell and other oil firms that have wiped tens of billions of dollars off their book values this year.
Equinor said it expected the price of the Brent global crude benchmark to average $64 a barrel for the period of 2021-2050, higher than the $50 predicted by BP in June and also above Shell’s long-term price forecast of $60 from 2023.
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