Big Oil recorded one of its worst years in history because of the coronavirus pandemic that pushed their financial results deep into negative territory. Earlier this week, BP reported a net loss of $5.7 billion for 2020, citing oil and gas price weaknesses and demand destruction by the pandemic. Exxon, for its part, booked the biggest loss in its modern history, at $20 billion, including an impairment charge of $19.3 billion. “The past year presented the most challenging market conditions Exxon Mobil has ever experienced,” Exxon’s chief executive Darren Woods said , as quoted by the Wall Street Journal. Indeed, things must have been tough for the biggest U.S. oil companies— reports emerged earlier this week that Exxon had discussed a merger with peer Chevron. Meanwhile, everyone was cutting costs by shedding non-core assets and tightening capital spending plans. The energy industry was among those hardest hit by the […]