Oil is approaching a turning point in its coronavirus saga. After several weeks of extreme volatility, prices rallied last week. BP, Shell, Exxon and Chevron offered investors a clear sense of the challenges ahead as they revealed just how damaging Covid-19 lockdowns and the Saudi-Russian price war had been for their first-quarter earnings. Meanwhile, the OPEC+/G20 oil production pact aimed at soaking up an unprecedented glut and stabilizing prices got underway on Friday. Now, as many governments begin to ease lockdown measures, some analysts see a spark of optimism for prices. The way forward won’t be easy for oil-producing companies and crude-dependent economies. On a call with analysts, BP CEO Bernard Looney speculated last week that coronavirus lockdowns will have a permanent diminishing effect on oil consumption. Before the pandemic and the oil-price rout, the world’s biggest energy companies mapped out plans to sell billions in assets to help […]