Oil giants could be facing a big turning point as the energy transition accelerates

Speed up, gas pedal, gas pedal... What the corona-conomy is doing to the fall of the oil industry. At the beginning of the year, oil was trading above $60 a barrel. Then, coronavirus hit and oil demand plunged on a worldwide economic shutdown. Prices went negative for the first time ever in April. Yesterday it was back around $40. But oil giants are losing hope:

• Shell is writing down the value of its oil assets by $22B. In April, it cut its dividend for the 1st time since WWII.
• BP wrote down $17.5B of its assets, expecting oil prices to stay low, and Occidental Petroleum is writing down $9B.
• Exxon is resisting a write-down — but it's getting heat from US authorities who say it's deceiving investors with false value.
• Chesapeake Energy, the fracking giant, just filed for bankruptcy due to collapsed oil & gas prices (and a fancy hidden wine cave).

Why you gotta be so crude?... The massive write-downs suggest a lot of oil could be left in the ground as a result of the demand slump. They also suggest that its long-term value is in a questionable spot as cleaner energy gains ground. Shell and BP have set targets to transition to net-zero emissions. BP just sold its petrochemicals biz for $5B, meeting its $15B divestment target a year ahead of schedule.