European oil majors have returned spectacularly to the black by posting huge first quarter profits as a recovery in crude prices helped them rebound from the coronavirus crisis.
France’s Total, Britain’s BP, Anglo-Dutch group Shell and Spain’s Repsol have this week posted $14.5 billion in first quarter profits between them.
It’s a far cry from the past year which saw global lockdowns decimate economic activity and oil prices fall off a cliff, taking the energy giants’ balance sheets with them.
Royal Dutch Shell led the way with $5.7 billion (4.7 billion euros) profit, with BP snapping at their heels on $4.7 billion and Total adding $3.3 billion while Repsol, browbeaten by two years of huge losses, scored a $783 million gain.