August 5, 2012
By ALEXIS FLYNN
Downbeat quarterly earnings from Europe’s major energy companies are a reminder that the bumper returns of two years ago are a long way from returning, as the sector expends time and money trying to secure new oil and gas fields.
While the market was braced for a drop in profits from a year ago, given that crude prices averaged 7% less than in the corresponding period in 2011, the scale of the future challenge faced by companies like BP PLC, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Total SA and Eni SpA was yet again in evidence, analysts said.