Impairments

Record production from the Permian Basin and a bevy of oil and natural gas projects worldwide was not enough to stanch the decline in commodity prices during the final quarter, as Chevron Corp. recorded a $10.4 billion impairment for assets that included the Appalachia portfolio, a natural gas export facility planned for British Columbia and a deepwater Gulf of Mexico project.

Record production from the Permian Basin and a bevy of oil and natural gas projects worldwide was not enough to stanch the decline in commodity prices during the final quarter, as Chevron Corp. recorded a $10.4 billion impairment for assets that included the Appalachia portfolio, a natural gas export facility planned for British Columbia and a deepwater Gulf of Mexico project.

BP plc said Tuesday it plans to take a $1.7 billion charge in its fourth quarter earnings because of additional claims related to the tragic Macondo well blowout in April 2010.

FirstEnergy Corp. this week reported a steep $6.2 billion (minus $14.49/share) net loss for 2016, reflecting asset impairment and plant exit costs related to its recent decision to leave the competitive power generation business and transition to a fully regulated company by 2018.

ExxonMobil Corp. has confirmed that an investigation about how it values its oil and natural gas reserves has been launched by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

BHP Billiton Ltd., one of the largest foreign investors in the U.S. onshore, said Friday it would take a $7.2 billion pre-tax impairment charge against the carrying value of its unconventional leaseholds in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford, Haynesville and Fayetteville shales.

Royal Dutch Shell plc recorded $7.9 billion in charges for the third quarter after writing off $2.6 billion in abandonment costs for its Alaska offshore venture, $2 billion to cease plans for an oilsands project in Canada and $2.7 billion for the value of its global natural gas and oil portfolio. If and when prices rise, the United States is not at the “top of our list..to immediately spend more money on,” the CFO said.

An elevated level of asset impairments in the first three months of this year and increasing charges in the second quarter, combined with a bleak commodity price outlook, has put 2015 on track to suffer the most exploration and production (E&P) asset charges in 10 years or more, IHS Inc. energy analysts calculated.

Expect more asset impairments along with lower capital spending, reduced revenues and year-end reserves from many producers as the impact of depressed commodity prices is fully felt, Ernst & Young LLP (EY) said Wednesday. However, the firm’s most recent U.S. oil and gas reserves study looked at 2014 when times were brighter.