BP to write off up to $17.5 billion after reduced oil price forecast

BP will take a writedown of up to $17.5 billion in its second-quarter earnings after sharply lowering its long-term oil and gas price outlook as it now expects a faster transition away from fossil fuels.

The earnings are due on Aug 4 and CEO Bernard Looney in September is set to announce his strategy to “reinvent” BP including a smaller focus on oil and gas and a larger renewables business.

In a statement, BP said that the aftermath of the new coronavirus pandemic would accelerate the transition to a lower-carbon economy in line with the goals of the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

“We have reset our price outlook to reflect that impact and the likelihood of greater efforts to ‘build back better’ towards a Paris-consistent world,” Looney said in a statement.