U.S. oil is now flowing unfettered to Europe for the first time, “so it’s a battle royale.”

Markets | Wed Jan 20, 2016: 3:29pm EST: New York

U.S. oil prices crashed below $27 dollars a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since 2003, caught in a broad slump across world financial markets with traders also worried that the crude supply glut could last longer.

Oil has fallen more than 25 percent so far this year, the steepest such slide since the financial crisis, piling more pain on oil drillers and producing nations alike. Yet they keep pumping more oil into an oversupplied market. read more

Global Stocks on Brink of Bear Market as Oil Slides; Ruble Sinks

By Javier Blas, Grant Smith: Bloomberg.com: 20 JAN 2016

The first mantra of the oil crisis was “lower for longer.” Then “lower for even longer.” Now in Davos, oil executives are starting to talk — or rather, whisper — about a new nightmare scenario: “A lot lower for a lot longer.”

Oil executives, policy makers and banks said in the first days of the World Economic Forum that a recovery will remain elusive in 2016 as major producers keep pumping and China’s fuel appetite slackens. And they fret that prices could take another hit as Iranian crude freed from sanctions flows back on to world markets.

More from Bloomberg.com: The North Dakota Crude Oil That’s Worth Almost Nothing

“It is the third year in a row we have more supply than demand,” Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, told Francine Lacqua in a Bloomberg Television interview. “Prices will be still under pressure. I don’t see any reason why we have a surprise increase in the price in 2016.” read more

POSTED ON OUR SHELL BLOG: 20 JAN 2016

As one of the many let go by Shell in the recent cull in November I was not impressed by the way senior leaders clung to their jobs.

This is now going to get even worse in my opinion as Shell announces more job losses.

Even the inmates will be turning on each other as there is nobody left in the asylum and yet strangely the senior leaders still remain in place.

The same senior leaders who got us into this mess seem to think they are the best to get Shell out of it. Good luck boys, its great watching from the outside for a change. read more

20 JAN 2016

Royal Dutch Shell has reported a sharp drop in profits just a week before shareholders vote on its planned takeover of smaller rival BG Group.

For the fourth quarter it expects profits of $1.6bn to $1.9bn, less than half the $4.2bn it made a year ago.

It expects full year profits of $10.4bn to $10.7bn, below its $10.8bn guidance.

The oil firm has issued the preliminary results to enable investors to have up-to-date information on its performance ahead of the vote on 27 January.

Its shares fell 3.7% in early trading.

But chief executive Ben van Beurden said he was “pleased” with the results.

“The completion of the BG transaction, which we are expecting in a matter of weeks, will mark the start of a new chapter in Shell, to rejuvenate the company, and improve shareholder returns,” he added. read more

By HELEN THOMAS: Jan 20, 2016

As a reminder of why Royal Dutch Shell wants to buy BG Group , an ugly set of figures certainly does the job.

Amid criticism of the now-$47 billion deal ahead of shareholders votes later this month, both companies released early full-year results Wednesday.

Shell’s report card was enough to send its stock down 5% in early trading.

FULL ARTICLE

By STANLEY REEDJAN. 20, 2016

LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell said on Wednesday that it expected profit for the fourth quarter of last year to be sharply lower than in the same period in 2014.

The company issued the preliminary estimates before a much-anticipated vote by Shell shareholders next Wednesday on the proposed acquisition of the BG Group, an oil and gas producer based in England.

Shell estimated that its profit for the quarter, excluding inventory changes and one-time charges, would fall around 50 percent, to between $1.6 billion and $1.9 billion, as lower oil prices cut sharply into revenue. The company posted profit of about $3.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2014. read more

• Shell expects full year underlying earnings to drop to between $10.4bn (£7.3bn) and $10.7bn (£7.6bn), a sharp fall on 20’14’s $22.56bn (£15.9bn)
•  Every $10 change in crude price knocks around $3bln (£2.1bn) off earnings
• BG says its earnings dropped in 2015 as expected, but added that the results are in line or ahead of forecasts 

By JONATHON HOPKINS FOR THISISMONEY.CO.UK: 20 JAN 2016

Plunging oil prices have led energy giant Royal Dutch Shell to warn that its earnings are expected to more than halve for 2015, sending its shares over 4 per cent lower this morning.

The blue chip group, which is weeks away from completing a £38billion deal to buy rival BG Group, said it expects its full year underlying earnings to drop to between $10.4billion (£7.3billion) and $10.7billion (£7.6billion).

That would be slightly City below expectations and marks a sharp fall on the $22.56billion (£15.9billion) Shell reported for 2014. It will report its full year results on February 4. read more

By Sara Sjolin: Published: Jan 20, 2016 3:42 a.m. ET

Royal Dutch Shell PLC RDSB, -4.82% RDS.B, -1.28% plans to cut 10,000 jobs in an effort to further reduce costs amid a severe slump in oil prices. The Anglo-Dutch energy company said in its trading update on Wednesday it had slashed operating costs by $4 billion in 2015 and that it expects further reductions of $3 billion in 2016. Shell also said profit fell by as much as 50% in the fourth quarter, sending the shares down 4.2%. read more

Rakteem Katakey: Bloomberg.com: January 20, 2016

Royal Dutch Shell Plc said fourth-quarter profit plunged as the rout in crude prices deepened. 

The company sees profit adjusted for one-time items and inventory changes of $1.6 billion to $1.9 billion, The Hague-based Shell said Wednesday in a preliminary earnings statement. That compares with the $1.8 billion average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, and profit of $3.3 billion a year earlier.

Shell, which is buying BG Group Plc in the industry’s largest deal in a decade, has cut jobs and reduced spending as Chief Executive Officer Ben Van Beurden prepares for a prolonged downturn. Crude’s slump below $30 a barrel has driven down Shell’s market value to the lowest in almost seven years and prompted concern it may be overpaying for BG’s production and cash flow. read more

By SARAH KENT: Jan. 20, 2016 2:40 a.m. ET

LONDON— Royal Dutch Shell PLC Wednesday said its profit fell by as much as 50% in the fourth quarter compared with the same period in 2014, illustrating how the slump in oil prices is playing havoc with the energy industry. read more

Terry Macalister: Wednesday 20 January 2016 08.11 GMT

The dismal figures ramp up the pressure on Shell’s chief executive, Ben van Beurden, who is trying to justify the £35bn takeover of rival BG which must be agreed by more than 50% of Shell shareholders next week.

FULL ARTICLE

Mark Leftly: 20 JAN 2016

Royal Dutch Shell has come under fire for being part of a consortium that accepted an “extraordinary” $3.3bn (£2.3bn) tax break in Nigeria – twice the poverty-stricken country’s annual health budget.  

In a new report ActionAid estimated the consortium, which also includes France’s Total and Italy’s Eni, received this benefit between 2004 and 2012 on top of Nigeria’s standard five-year tax holiday to encourage investment. The charity says the cost of the tax breaks could have been better spent on improving health and education systems at the same pace that oil revenue pours in. read more

Sean Farrell: Tuesday 19 January 2016 17.23 GMT

The world could find itself drowning in oil this year and prices could fall further as new Iranian output cancels out production cuts elsewhere, according to the International Energy Agency.

FULL ARTICLE