What’s Going On Here?Chevron is scrambling to keep up as the oil price goes down, down, down – but the $6.6 billion loss the oil company just delivered might’ve knocked it completely off balance. What Does This Mean?It’s not easy to look past the $10.4 billion worth of write-offs Chevron suffered after some big production plans went badly wrong. But if investors try, they’ll also see 24%-lower adjusted profits compared to the same time a year ago, as well as lower-than-expected revenue.
Chevron's rivals shouldn’t be too pleased with themselves, either: ExxonMobil might’ve beaten revenue estimates, but profits were almost 30% lower than a year before. And things are so dire at Royal Dutch Shell – where profits fell almost 50% – that the company has reduced share buybacks, which were pushing up the value of its stock (tweet this). Investors looking for a more reliable return, then, might be more forgiving of Chevron’s current predicament: the oil giant’s going through some stuff, sure, but it did just raise its dividend on Thursday. Why Should I Care?For markets: No rest for the wicked.
The primary culprit of oil firms’ woes is a low oil price: it averaged $71 per barrel in 2018, but just $64 in 2019. The oil price is heavily dependent on global economic growth, so it goes up when times are good and companies are active. But that decidedly didn’t happen last year, and continued oversupply from American shale oil firms is only making matters worse. And now the coronavirus pandemic has brought global travel to its knees, oil’s troubles might just be beginning: its price fell almost 15% in January.
The bigger picture: Stem the bleeding.
Over 40% of all oil comes from OPEC+, a group of oil-producing countries that uses its stature to influence the oil price. They’ve already reduced production to try to boost the price in the last few years, and they may now hold an emergency meeting to cut supply further. | 
