* Rosneft cut oil output in Q1 by 2.2%
* Q1 2020 loss of 156 bln rbls vs 131 bln profit in Q1 2019
* Company slashes 2020 investments by 20%
(Adds detail)
By Vladimir Soldatkin and Olesya Astakhova
MOSCOW, May 15 (Reuters) - Russia's largest oil producer,
Rosneft, on Friday reported a first-quarter loss of
156 billion roubles ($2.1 billion) hurt by the spread of the
coronavirus and a weaker rouble.
Rosneft, which accounts for around 40% of Russia's total oil
production, also said it cut its oil and gas condensate output
in the first three months of the year by 2.2% from the
year-earlier period to 4.64 million barrels per day (bpd) due to
a global pact to curb output.
The global oil industry has been hit by weak oil prices,
which declined by around two-thirds in January-March due to a
supply glut and the economic fallout from the spread of the
novel coronavirus.
To tackle the impact of the spread of the virus and
overproduction, a group of leading oil producers including
Russia, known as OPEC+, agreed last month to boost their
combined oil output cuts to almost 10 million bpd, or 10% of
global demand in May-June.
Rosneft, in which BP owns a 19.75% stake, plans to
cut investment by around $2.7 billion, or 21%, this year due to
the global pact.
"(This year) may become a turning point for the global oil
and gas industry. As a result of the global COVID-19 virus
pandemic, demand for crude oil has experienced an unprecedented
decline, which resulted in a significant drop of energy prices,"
Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin said in a statement.
He, however, added that Rosneft was well-placed to weather
the challenges.
The company said its first-quarter finances were negatively
impacted by a weaker rouble, which inflated its foreign exchange
denominated debt obligations.
Revenue for the January-March quarter fell 15% to 1.77
trillion roubles on lower oil prices, while earnings before
interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 44%
to 309 billion roubles.
Rosneft made net profit of 131 billion roubles in the first
quarter of 2019.
($1 = 73.4609 roubles)
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Olesya Astakhova; editing
by Jason Neely and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)