Exxon Mobil Corp on Monday said it would write down the value of natural gas properties by $17 billion to $20 billion, its biggest ever impairment, and slash project spending next year to its lowest level in 15 years.
New cost cuts aim to protect a $15 billion a year shareholder payout that many analysts believe is unsustainable without higher prices.
The writedown lays bare the size of the miscalculation that the company made in 2010 when it paid $30 billion for U.S. shale producer XTO Energy as natural gas prices went into a decade-long decline. The writedown also includes properties in Argentina and western Canada.