Libya and dollar hit Total and Eni profits

France’s Total has posted lower quarterly earnings despite higher prices for crude oil. It blamed unfavourable exchange rates, production losses in the North Sea and Libya, as well as weakness in its refining business.

Net income was almost 2.8 billion euros.

Italy’s Eni also reported lower second-quarter profits due to a weak dollar and the fighting in Libya which shut down oil fields.

A 13 percent weakening in the dollar hit both companies as the price of the crude they produce is denominated in the US currency.

By comparison, Europe’s largest oil company by market value, Royal Dutch Shell, on Thursday reported a 56 percent rise in underlying net dollar income.

US rival and industry leader Exxon Mobil reported a 41 percent rise while at Norway’s Statoil, the rise was 39 percent.

Eni said it could quickly restart output at its Libyan fields when the fighting there ended, as no damage had been reported to its facilities — echoing comments on Thursday from Spanish rival Repsol, which also has large operations in Libya.

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