Last checked at 
* 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%
* Sees oil production declining by 10% in 2020
(Adds detail after conference call)
By Vladimir Soldatkin and Olesya Astakhova
MOSCOW, May 15 (Reuters) - Russia's largest oil producer,
Rosneft, said on Friday it expects a 10% decline in
2020 oil output, after reporting a first-quarter net loss of 156
billion roubles ($2.1 billion) due to the impact of the
coronavirus and a weaker rouble.
Rosneft, which accounts for around 40% of Russia's total oil
extraction, also said it cut its oil and gas condensate
production 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.
"We can say that the year-on-year output decline will amount
to around 10% and 5% in refining," first vice-president, Pavel
Fedorov, told investors on a conference call. This means
production cuts could reach 467,000 bpd this year.
Rosneft, in which BP owns a 19.75% stake, also 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.
The company also confirmed that newly set up Russian state
entity, Roszarubezhneft, has bought its assets in Venezuela.
($1 = 73.4609 roubles)
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Olesya Astakhova; editing
by Jason Neely and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
