UPDATE 2-Repsol writes down $1.5 bln as COVID-19 sours oil outlook

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By Isla Binnie and Jose Elías Rodríguez

MADRID, July 23 (Reuters) - Spanish oil and gas firm Repsol
posted a quarterly net loss and wrote down $1.5 billion
in assets on Thursday as it revised down unusually high
expectations for oil and gas prices over the next 30 years.

The demand-sapping COVID-19 crisis has piled pressure on a
sector already battered by oil prices dragged down by tension
between producing countries over how to regulate supply and a
broad drive to shift to low-carbon energy sources.

BP, Shell and Eni have all written
down the value of assets on their balance sheets recently.

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 reported a 1.997 billion euro ($2.3 billion) net loss for
the second quarter, but the adjusted figure of 258 million
euros, taking into account factors including certain costs and
taxes, was slightly less steep than that forecast by analysts
polled by the company.

Repsol said it would buy back shares and present a new plan
in November for how to reach a goal to reduce carbon emissions
to net zero by 2050 while maintaining its value.

"We are... ensuring the robustness of our balance sheet and
reaffirming our commitment to lead the energy transition," Chief
Executive Josu Jon Imaz said in a statement.

Repsol shares rose 1%, outperforming Spain's blue-chip IBEX
35 index, before retreating into slightly negative
territory.

The company 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.

A further 113 million euros in provisions brought the total
write-down to 1.44 billion euros.

The company burned cash throughout the period, with a
negative free cash flow of 217 million euros.

($1 = 0.8629 euros)
(Reporting by Isla Binnie; Editing by Jose Elías Rodríguez and
Emelia Sithole-Matarise)