The oil majors are set to unveil their second-quarter earnings in the coming days, and analysts expect the figures to be pretty rough. Despite their size, the integrated oil majors are slated to post huge losses. The problem is that there is almost nowhere to hide. Oil prices were obviously at historically low levels in the second quarter, including a brief trip deep into negative territory. Typically, during downturns, the majors are shielded by their downstream refining assets – low crude prices lower input costs and cheap fuel tends to stoke demand. However, the pandemic obviously shut everything down, so demand contracted sharply. With hundreds of millions of people confined to their homes, it didn’t matter if fuel was cheap. As a result, refining margins collapsed. So, too, did petrochemical demand. Chemical units were unlikely to bolster the battered finances of the oil giants. Meanwhile, the global market for […]