British giant BP said it slumped into a 4.4-billion dollars net loss in the first quarter as the coronavirus pandemic crushed demand for oil.
BP, as well as the entire energy sector, faces an unprecedented crisis which triggered a price crash due to the plunge in oil world demand.
During the same period in 2019, the group registered net earnings of 2.9-billion dollars, the firm detailed in a communiqué.
"Our industry has been hit by supply and demand shocks on a scale never seen before," BP's new chief executive Bernard Looney said in an earnings statement.
The energy company also expects to produce less oil in the second quarter, with companies unable to store the excess crude.
BP's first-quarter output dropped 2.8 percent compared to the volume registered in the same period last year, to 3.7 million barrels per day.
The firm also reminded in its communiqué it planned to reduce cash costs by $2.5 billion by the end of 2021 relative to 2019.
