Norwegian independent oil company Aker BP said on Friday it expected to report a pre-tax loss due to impairments worth $500 million-$700 million related to the oil price crash.
North Sea oil prices hit more than 20-year lows this week as demand has plunged due to global measures to halt the spread of the coronavirus.
"Due to the sharp reduction in oil prices, the company expects to make non-cash impairment charges related to both tangible and intangible assets," the company said.
Aker BP shares were trading 3.1% down by 0819 GMT, while the wider European oil and gas index was down 2.5%.
The company, 30% owned by BP, also reported a record quarterly output at 208,100 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), while its realized oil price stood at $47.9 a barrel thanks to hedging gains.
The almost 9% increase in output from the previous quarter reflected the continued ramp-up of Equinor-operated Johan Sverdrup field.
Aker BP has about 11.6% stake in Western Europe's largest producing oilfield, which started last October.
(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis; Editing by Edmund Blair)
Subscribe
