Red Ink for Statoil

Norway’s Statoil has slipped into the red for the three months ended March 31, 2015, largely on U.S. onshore unconventional asset impairments.

The company’s net loss for the first quarter was NOK 35.5 billion ($4.71 billion), compared with a net profit of NOK 23.6 billion a year earlier.

Statoil generated 30% less revenue in Q1. Revenue dropped from NOK 169.9 billion, recorded in Q1 2014, to NOK 119.5 billion.

“We take a more cautious view due to the uncertainty in the commodity markets. It is important to maintain a solid foundation for our decisions. The underlying quality of the assets and the operational performance remains unchanged”, says president and CEO of Statoil ASA, Eldar Sætre.

Statoil booked impairments of NOK 46.1 billion ($6.1 billion), mainly in, as previously mentioned, U.S. onshore unconventional assets, as a result of the company’s revision of its planning assumptions.

In line with the company’s previous financial reports, this is Statoil’s third quarterly net loss in a row.