BP to suffer value reduction as much as $17.5B

BP will cut the value of its oil and gas assets by $17.5 billion and review plans for some oil wells due to the reduced demand for oil and gas.

The London-based company expects the demand for energy to remain weaker for "a sustained period."

Consequently, BP cut its long-term forecast for the benchmark Brent crude to about $55 a barrel from $70.

Brent oil traded for about $39 a barrel on Monday.

Chief Executive Bernard Looney described their decision to be "difficult" and rooted in their net-zero ambition, adding that it would better enable the company to compete through the energy transition.

BP pledged to become "net-zero″ by 2050. Like other oil firms, BP is being urged to hasten the process with the pandemic already cutting profits to finance the transition.

The actions announced by BP would result in after-tax impairment charges and write-offs of between $13 billion and $17.5 billion for its second-quarter earnings.

With unusually high oil and gas supplies and demand plunging due to the lockdown, the U.S. price of oil went below zero in April for the first time.

According to David Elmes, an energy expert at Warwick Business School, other companies are looking to move away from fossil fuels, such as Shell, Total, and Repsol.