Mark Milner
Friday October 27, 2006
Shell took the City by surprise yesterday, posting better than expected underlying profits based on high oil prices and strong output figures.
Headline profits fell from $7.2bn in the third quarter of 2005 to $6.9bn (£3.7bn) this time but were well above the $5.7bn to $6bn analysts had forecast. Shell said that, stripping out the $1.7bn gain from asset sales last year, earnings a share were up 33% on a current cost of supply basis.
“This is a good performance by the group. Our earnings have proven resilient in the face of rising industry costs and weakening refining margins,” said Shell’s chief executive, Jeroen van der Veer. “Operating performance has been satisfactory, LNG [liquefied natural gas] growth has been impressive in the quarter and our upstream volumes have grown despite shut-downs in Nigeria.”
Shell shares climbed 3% yesterday and the sector received a further boost when ExxonMobil, the world’s largest quoted oil company, also turned in better than expected profits. Though Exxon just missed breaking its profits record, set last year, the $10.5bn reported yesterday was still the second-highest quarterly profits total recorded by a US company.
Yesterday’s strong performance from Shell has boosted hopes that it is emerging from a tough period that saw it forced to downgrade its oil and gas reserves in 2004 and then report escalating development costs at the Sakhalin-2 project last year.
Some analysts have suggested Russia could be using environmental issues to pressure Shell and its partners into amending Sakhalin’s original development plan, which offers the country relatively little money until the developers have covered their costs.
Yesterday Mr van der Veer said that Russia had already received some money from Sakhalin and that it would receive $50bn at an oil price of $34 a barrel and some $80bn if oil stood at $50 a barrel.
There have also been reports that Russia could be trying to pressure Shell to provide better terms in an asset swap that would see state-controlled Gazprom take a stake in Sakhalin in exchange for Shell acquiring a holding in a Siberian field.
Mr van der Veer said Shell was continuing to hold talks with the Russians over issues arising from Sakhalin and added: “I assume by continuing to hold discussions as indicated we will come to a solution which is acceptable to both parties.”
Citigroup’s analyst Jonathan Wright said in a research note: “There is a case building for Shell to at least close the valuation gap [with BP].”
http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1932573,00.html
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
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A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
