Norway's Statoil posted fourth-quarter results well below forecasts on Tuesday, including a $2.3 billion net impairment charge, as it reduced its price assumptions for the long term.
Statoil posted a net operating loss of $1.9 billion in the quarter, against expectations for a profit of $2.1 billion and against a profit of $152 million at the same time a year ago.
"The result was impacted by $2.3 billion in net impairment charges mainly due to reduced long-term price assumptions," Statoil said in a statement.
The firm maintained its dividend policy and said it would have the same amount of capital expenditure in 2017 than in 2016, or $11 billion, and the same in terms in oil and gas exploration, or $1.5 billion.
Statoil shares are up 31 percent over the past year, beating a European oil and gas index up 24 percent over the same period.