Big Oil Asset Write-Downs Are Not The End Of The Oil Age
Wasn’t that the perfect opportunity to clean the balance sheet of a long list of accumulated duds and misinvestments? Projects that had turned sour before COVID but managements kept them on the books hoping for better times. Deals that turned rancid and could not be cleaned up. Company structures that had been built up during the “show off” days and have turned out to be a millstone around their necks. And now, instead of owning their own horrible mess, they get to stick it all to COVID. How neat. Whatever, this mangled mess needed cleaning up for many years. Its time it gets done – little does it matter what labels they stick on it. This is just one evolutionary step for oil & gas – and it will be bigger and better after. Just wait.