The oil majors began reporting their third quarter earnings in recent days, and the figures do not look good. The three-month period ending in September saw oil prices sink to the low $40s per barrel and rebound to $50, but the losses continued to pile up for many of the largest oil companies. Statoil started the earnings season on Thursday, reporting a loss much worse than analysts had expected. The quasi-state-owned Norwegian firm reported a loss of $432 million in the third quarter, lower than the $307 million loss it posted a year earlier. “The financial results were affected by low oil and gas prices, extensive planned maintenance and expensed exploration wells from previous periods,” Statoil’s CEO Eldar Saetre said in a statement. The poor results were due to lower oil prices and lower refining margins, but Statoil put on a brave face, arguing to shareholders that it is […]