The two energy multinationals have differing views on prospects for the oil price but either way it will be a tough few years
Compare and contrast. Last week Shell’s chief executive, Ben van Beurden, opined that the “long-term equilibrium” for the oil price lay at about $90, which sounded semi-cheerful from the point of view of a producer. Van Beurden thought it was important not to “over-react” to current lower prices.
On Tuesday Bob Dudley at BP warned of a “raging gale” in the oil industry that could last for years. He wasn’t talking long-term equilibriums, let alone suggesting where they might lie. Instead, he said the current situation “feels like 1986”, when the oil price crashed by three-quarters, rather than the mere halving that has been witnessed since last summer.