Lukoil reported a RUB 46bn loss for the first quarter of 2020 as prices on global oil markets collapsed due to the coronavirus crisis. Expectations of a severe recession dampened demand expectations to the point that the price of oil fell into negative territory. Lukoil warned that it considers it likely that these trends will persist into the second quarter. The main drag on the Russian energy company’s results has been the sharp decline in prices for oil and refined petroleum products.
The Q1 loss this year was a dramatic turn of events for a company that produced a RUB 149.2bn profit in Q1 2019. Sales fell to RUB 1.666 trillion from RUB 1.851 trillion for the same period of 2019. Since May 1, Lukoil has cut oil production at its fields in Russia and some international projects under the terms of a new OPEC+ agreement signed in April.
