The oil and gas industry faces a challenging second half of the year as many countries around the world are still grappling with the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report.
Energy companies are continuing to cut costs and defer new drilling, according to the report by U.K. financial services firm Deloitte, as coronavirus cases rise to record levels in the U.S., slowing petroleum demand and stifling the price of crude. The current drop in petroleum demand is four times larger than during the 2008 financial crisis and could take months or years to return to pre-pandemic levels, Deloitte said.
“In an industry used to the highs and lows of economic and commodity price cycles, 2020 poses one of the greatest challenges to oil and gas companies since Colonel Edwin Drake struck oil in Titusville, Pa., in 1859,” Deloitte said in its midyear outlook published Monday.
Read it from HoustonChronicle – Photo as posted on HoustonChronicle (A passenger wears a mask while boarding a United Airlines flight at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Sunday, May 24, 2020, in Houston. Deloitte, a U.K.-based financial services firm, estimates the current drop in petroleum demand is four times larger than the 2008 financial crisis and could take months, if not years, to return to pre-pandemic levels.Photo: David J. Phillip, STF / Associated Press)