UPDATE 1-Repsol posts loss, writes down $1.5 bln as COVID-19 sours oil outlook

(Adds detail, background)

By Isla Binnie and Jose Elías Rodríguez

MADRID, July 23 (Reuters) - Spanish oil and gas firm Repsol
posted a net loss for the second quarter on Thursday,
and wrote down $1.5 billion in assets on expectations of lower
oil and gas prices over the next 30 years.

Repsol joins peers including BP and Shell in
recalculating the value of its assets and reserves due to the
demand-sapping COVID-19 crisis and a widespread shift to
low-carbon energy sources.

The 258 million euro ($298.9 million) quarterly adjusted net
loss was less deep than an average forecast for 279 million
euros given by analysts polled by the company. The reported net
loss for the quarter amounted to nearly 2 billion euros.

Repsol said it now expected Brent crude oil prices
to average $59.6 per barrel between 2020 and 2050. It had
previously forecast Brent crude to reach $87 per barrel by 2035,
a higher forecast than most of its rivals.

It also revised down its Henry Hub gas price outlook,
calculating an average $3.3 per million British thermal units
over the next 30 years, from a previous estimate this would rise
to $5/MBTU by 2035.

Brent crude oil rebounded between April and June from depths
plumbed during widespread lockdowns in the first quarter, but
still closed 38% below its level at the same point last year.

Markets are slowly rebalancing, and prices look set to be
around $40 per barrel in the coming months, the International
Energy Agency said last week.

($1 = 0.8631 euros)
(Reporting by Isla Binnie; Editing by Jose Elías Rodríguez)