The pandemic is accelerating a divide between European and American oil companies over climate change and clean energy.

Why it matters: Bottom lines and investor returns will be vastly different across the corporate spectrum depending on how aggressively the world tackles climate change in the coming decades.

U.S. oil production's nearly 2 million barrel per day decline in May was the steepest monthly drop since at least 1980, the federal Energy Information Administration said in a short report.

Why it matters: The agency's monthly production data, which is more robust than weekly snapshots but arrives with a lag, starkly shows the toll the pandemic took on U.S. output after the price collapse caused a major pullback. Some of the lost output has recently returned as prices improved, but production is expected to remain depressed.

WTI, the benchmark U.S. oil future, traded Wednesday morning at its highest since early March — highlighting how the worst of shale's crisis is seemingly over, though more bankruptcies likely lie ahead.

Why it matters: Its price at the time — $43 — is still too low for many producers to do well, though it varies from company to company.

BP posted a $6.7 billion second-quarter loss and cut its dividend in half Tuesday while unveiling accelerated steps to transition its portfolio toward low-carbon sources.

Why it matters: The announcement adds new targets and details to its February vow to become a "net-zero" emissions company by mid-century.

Refining giant Marathon Petroleum Corp. announced late Sunday that it's selling its Speedway retail gasoline stations and convenience stores to 7-Eleven, Inc. in a $21 billion cash deal.

Why it matters: It's the year's biggest energy deal thus far, the Wall Street Journal notes.

The two largest U.S.-based multinational oil-and-gas giants both announced billions of dollars in second-quarter losses Friday in results that show the pandemic's toll on the industry.

Driving the news: ExxonMobil, citing "global oversupply and COVID-related demand impacts," reported a $1.1 billion loss, compared to $3.1 billion in profits the same period last year.

Shell and Total SA announced mammoth earnings declines Thursday that reflect the pandemic's toll on energy prices and demand, but the companies nonetheless beat expectations and eked out profits.

Driving the news: Shell announced second-quarter adjusted net earnings of $638 million, an 82% decline from the same period last year.

President Trump will tout his policy of "restoring energy dominance" in Texas oil country Wednesday, but market forces, OPEC and a raging pandemic are complicating his plans.

Driving the news: Trump's swing through the state today includes a visit in Midland to a Double Eagle Energy oil rig and speech on energy, and a fundraiser in Odessa.

A Texas carbon capture project hailed as a key solution to climate change has been "mothballed" over low oil prices, E&E News reported on Tuesday evening. 

Our thought bubble: The news is unsurprising but nonetheless emblematic of the complex relationship between climate policies and oil prices, which collapsed along with oil demand in the wake of the pandemic.

This week brings the heart of Big Oil's earnings season and it's not going to be a pretty picture for the industry.

Why it matters: The second-quarter results will bear the heavy imprint of the collapse in demand and prices in recent months — and could reveal more about steps that companies are taking in response.