As Europe’s major oil-and-gas companies weigh the challenges ahead, BP looks to be lagging behind its rivals. On Tuesday, French energy giant Total gave shareholders the option to receive their 2019 final dividend in shares rather than cash—a way of preserving liquidity as it reported a sharp drop in first-quarter profit. Last week, Royal Dutch Shellcut its payout for the first time since World War II because of what its chief executive called a “crisis of uncertainty” caused by the oil glut, Covid-19 pandemic and climate...

Source: Wall Street Journal May 05, 2020 16:21 UTC