BBC NEWS

Former Shell boss Ben van Beurden’s pay package jumps to £9.7m

9 March 2023

Former Shell boss Ben van Beurden received a pay package of £9.7m last year, up more than 50% from 2021.

His pay was revealed in the oil and gas giant’s annual report and accounts.

Shell reported the highest annual profits in its 115-year history last year after a surge in energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Massive profits made by energy firms have added to pressure to tax them more as households struggle with rising energy bills. read more

BBC NEWS

Vast energy firm profits raise fresh questions over windfall tax

By Douglas Fraser: Business and economy editor, Scotland

• Vast profits for BP and Shell have put them in the frontline of a battle over the winners and losers from the energy crisis.
• Extension of the windfall tax is seen by the industry as a way of discouraging further investment.
• Some would prefer to see that discouraged and are dismayed as BP increases spend, while others want taxes to target benefits to shareholders.

BP and Shell get the attention because they’re big, public brands based in Britain. They’re not the only ones making vast amounts of money.

US firm ExxonMobil reported a profit of $56bn (£47bn) for last year. Chevron, also in the US, reported $36bn (£30bn).

Shell had profits of $40bn (£32bn) and BP has weighed in at $28bn (£23bn). All of them have more than doubled profits as the invasion of Ukraine and sanctions on Russia roiled the world’s energy markets.

Equinor (formerly Statoil), based in Norway and the largest supplier of gas to the UK and European Union after Russian gas flow was cut sharply, announced on Wednesday its net profit for the year was $28.7bn (£24bn), up from $8.6bn (£7bn) in 2021. Adjusted operating profits – before tax and removing one-off items – came to $75bn (£62bn). read more

BBC NEWS

Shell reports highest profits in 115 years

Oil and gas giant Shell has reported record annual profits after energy prices surged last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

By Simon Jack & Nick Edser: 2 FEB 2023

Profits hit $39.9bn (£32.2bn) in 2022, double last year’s total and the highest in its 115-year history.

Energy firms have seen record earnings since oil and gas prices jumped following the invasion of Ukraine.

It has heaped pressure on firms to pay more tax as households struggle with rising bills.

Opposition parties said Shell’s profits were “outrageous” and the government was letting energy firms “off the hook”. They also called for the planned increase in the energy price cap due in April to be scrapped. read more

BBC NEWS: Job risk as Shell considers quitting energy market

BBC NEWS 27 JAN 2023

Up to 2,000 UK jobs are at risk at Shell Energy after it announced it was considering quitting the energy sector.

The firm said it was conducting a “strategic review” to its operations in the UK, Netherlands and Germany amid “tough market conditions”.

The Coventry-based company provides energy to 1.4 million homes in the UK and broadband to around 500,000 people.

A spokesperson said: “No decisions have yet been taken on the way forward” and added the review could take months. read more

BBC News

Man hit with £29k Shell Energy bill after supplier error

24 Jan 2023

A man has been hit with a £29,000 energy bill following a mistake by his supplier.

Patrick Collins, from Henley, Oxfordshire, said attempts to resolve the problem with Shell Energy had so far failed.

The bill was his first from the firm after his previous supplier, Green Energy, went bust in 2021.

After being contacted by the BBC, Shell Energy said it accepted Mr Collins did not owe £29,000.

It added it was working to rectify the problem. read more

BBC News

Shell to pay $16m to Nigerian farmers over oil damage

23 Dec 2022

Shell has agreed to pay $16m (£13m) to four Nigerian farmers and their communities to compensate for damage allegedly caused by pollution coming from leaks in its oil pipelines.

The sum was agreed in negotiations between the oil company and campaign group Friends of the Earth.

But it is being given on the basis of “no admission of liability”, a joint statement says.

Nigeria’s oil industry has been a major source of environmental damage. read more

BBC NEWS

Shell pays no UK windfall tax despite profits jump

By Michael Race: Business reporter, BBC News: 27 Oct 2022

Shell has reported its second highest quarterly profit on record but it has not paid the UK’s windfall tax on energy firms.

The energy giant said global profits reached $9.5bn (£8.2bn) between July and September, compared to $4.2bn during the same period last year.

However, Shell said that because it had made large investments in the UK, it meant it had made no profit here.

It also does not expect to start paying windfall taxes until early next year.

The Energy Price Levy – or windfall tax – on the profits of energy firms was announced by Rishi Sunak in May, when he was chancellor. At the time he said it would raise £5bn in its first year. read more

BBC NEWS

Shell beats forecasts as profits more than double

Shell has reported profits have more than doubled between July and September helped by high oil and gas prices.

The energy giant said underlying profits reached $9.5bn (£8.2bn) in the third quarter.

That compares to $4.2bn during the same period last year though it is a slowdown from the second quarter when it announced record figures.

The invasion of Ukraine sparked oil and gas prices to rise as nations pledged to cut dependence on Russian energy. read more

BBC News

Shell consultant quits and accuses firm of ‘extreme harms’

By Annabelle Liang: Business reporter: 25 May 2022

A safety consultant at oil and gas giant Shell has stopped working for the firm, as she accused its top executives of failing to protect the environment.

In a post on the professional networking platform LinkedIn, Caroline Dennett said the company is “causing extreme harms to our climate, environment, nature and to people”.

It has drawn over 10,000 likes and has been shared more than 1,200 times. read more

BBC News

Shell plans to move headquarters to the UK

15 Nov 2021

Royal Dutch Shell has announced a plan to move its headquarters to the UK as part of proposals to simplify the company’s structure.

The oil giant will ask shareholders to vote on shifting its tax residence from the Netherlands to the UK.

It also wants to do away with its dual share structure in favour of just one class of shares to boost “the speed and flexibility” of shareholder payouts.

Shell’s chief executive, Ben van Beurden, will relocate to the UK. read more

BBC NEWS: 30 JUNE 2020

Shell, one of the world’s largest oil companies, has warned that the low price of oil could reduce the value of its assets by up to $22bn (£17.9bn).

It said it expects oil to change hands at $60 per barrel in the long term and to be priced at $35 this year and $40 next year.

Shell follows rival BP in telling investors that oil hardware is not worth as much as it used to be.

BP told investors this month its assets could be worth $17.5bn less.

Countries across the globe have ordered people to stay indoors and not travel as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, which has caused a slump in demand for oil. read more

30 APRIL 2020

The energy giant also suspended the next tranche of its share buyback programme.

The move came as it announced a 46% fall in first-quarter net income to $2.9bn (£2.3bn).

Chief executive Ben van Beurden warned of “continued deterioration in the macroeconomic outlook”.

He said Shell was taking “further prudent steps to bolster our resilience” and “underpin the strength of our balance sheet”.

Global demand for oil has all but dried up as lockdowns across the world have kept people inside. read more

14 December 2018

About 180 jobs are at risk after energy giant Shell announced the closure of two fire-damaged chemical units within an oil refinery in Cheshire.

The positions at Stanlow in Ellesmere Port are in question following a blaze at the site in August, which damaged the units.

Shell said the cost of fixing the damage was “not economically viable”,

The two chemical plants at the site are owed by Shell but are run under a management agreement by Essar Oil UK.

Essar Oil UK employs over 900 staff, and a further 500 contractors also operate at the refinery. read more

The gas is coming from the Shearwater platform

A new pipeline to help take gas from Shell’s Shearwater platform to the St Fergus plant in Aberdeenshire has been announced.

The 23-mile (37km) link will join Shearwater, 140 miles (225km) east of Aberdeen, with the Fulmar Gas Line.

Shell said the move – part of the creation of a gas infrastructure hub in the central North Sea – would reduce costs.

The hub is expected to produce as much as 400 million cubic feet of gas a day.

Analysis by BBC Scotland business and economy editor Douglas Fraser read more

22 November 2018

The energy giant Shell is to increase the amount of gas processed at a Norfolk terminal by 16% – securing its future for “decades to come”.

The firm has spent £300m updating the plant at Bacton to allow 400 million cubic feet (11,300 litres) of gas to be processed.

“This means we can use the facilities more and reduce operating costs,” Anne O’Halloran, from Shell, said.

This firm is also drilling more wells in the Southern North Sea gas field. read more

1 November 2018

Royal Dutch Shell’s profits surged by 37% in the third quarter of the year on the back of rising oil prices.

The Anglo-Dutch giant said earnings excluding one-off items on a current cost of supply measure (CCS), which strips out price fluctuations, hit $5.6bn (£4.3bn) from $4.1bn last year.

Rising oil and gas prices in the July-to-September period were the main driver of profits.

Shell joins rivals, including BP, in reporting strong results.

However, the figure was lower than a company-provided analysts’ consensus forecast of nearly $5.8bn. read more

Shell to develop North Sea Fram gas field

Monday 25 June 2018

Oil company Shell has given the final go-ahead to develop the Fram gas field in the North Sea.

The field, 100 miles east of Aberdeen, is expected to produce about 41 million cubic feet of gas a day.

It will be connected using subsea infrastructure to the neighbouring Shearwater platform.

Steve Phimister, Shell’s vice president for upstream in the UK and Ireland, said reducing development costs had allowed investment in new projects.

He said: “With our strong record of operational excellence and project execution, we will look to invest in further projects as we work to grow our business in the North Sea.” read more

By Kevin Keane: BBC Scotland’s environment correspondent: 26 April 2018

The Health and Safety Executive has written to all oil and gas operators expressing concern about the number of gas releases in the industry.

The regulator said some had come “perilously close to disaster” and that more needed to be done to tackle them.

The HSE said a “lack of leadership” was often to blame for leaks, and called for firms to review their processes.

Operators have until July to respond with a summary of their planned improvements.

The HSE has written to operators ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster. The platform exploded in July 1988, leaving 167 men dead. read more

21 Dec2017

Shell has agreed to buy the energy supplier First Utility, giving the oil giant its first foothold in the UK’s household energy market.

First Utility is the biggest energy supplier in the UK outside the so-called “big six”.

The company supplies 825,000 homes with gas, electricity or broadband.

Shell is already active in the wholesale energy market, but this is the first time it will supply UK homes directly.

The price of the deal – which is subject to regulatory approval – has not been revealed. read more

20 December 2017

Two global oil giants, Eni and Shell, are to stand trial in Italy over allegations of corruption in Nigeria.

The case involves the purchase of an offshore oil block in Nigeria for $1.3bn (£1bn) in 2011.

The companies deny wrongdoing, saying they acquired the rights in accordance with Nigerian law.

The trial in Italy is expected to start in March next year. It follows a lengthy investigation by Italian prosecutors.

Anti-corruption watchdog Global Witness says it could be one of the biggest corporate corruption trials in history. read more

Oil giant Shell will not sell off any more North Sea assets.

A senior figure at the company has told BBC Scotland he has no plans to sell resources despite the chancellor announcing measures to make the process easier.

Shell has just completed the sale of a package of assets to the company Chrysaor for $3.8bn.

It included stakes in the Buzzard, Beryl, Elgin-Franklin and Schiehallion fields.

Director of Shell’s Upstream Commercial business, Steve Phimister, said he would now invest in what remains. read more

By Ian Pollock Business reporter, BBC News: 26 Sept 2017

Dyson, the engineering company best known for its vacuum cleaners and fans, plans to spend £2bn developing a “radical” electric car.

The battery-powered vehicle is due to be launched in 2020.

Dyson says 400 staff have been working on the secret project for the past two years at its headquarters in Malmesbury, Wiltshire.

However, the car does not yet exist, with no prototype built, and a factory site is yet to be chosen. read more

Shell boss Ben Van Beurden says Storm Harvey is a “major event” for the industry and the firm’s staff in Texas.

Shell, which has its US base in the Texas city of Houston, has put some of its staff in emergency homes and closed two major facilities.

The storm, which earlier achieved hurricane status, has ripped through the US energy industry in the region.

However, Mr Van Beurden thinks the tropical storm will not have a major impact on its US oil production.

Large parts of Houston are under water, and more than 20 people are reported dead.

Thousands of people there have fled their homes in search of emergency shelter after record rainfall caused severe flooding.

The Shell chief executive said: “We’ve all seen the pictures. Many, many of our people – as with others as well – have been displaced… We’ve had to put people up in temporary accommodation.” read more

BHP Billiton replaces directors Brinded and King

The firm says that, “given his involvement in ongoing legal proceedings in Italy relating to his prior employment with Shell”, Malcolm Brinded has decided not to stand for re-election as a non-exec.

Live Reporting: By Bill Wilson 23 August 2017 7.29

A shake-up at the board of mining company BHP Billiton has been announced this morning.

Firstly, the highly experienced Terry Bowen and John Mogford have been appointed to the BHP Board as independent non-executive directors.

But it is the departures that are more interesting.

The firm says that, “given his involvement in ongoing legal proceedings in Italy relating to his prior employment with Shell”, Malcolm Brinded has decided not to stand for re-election as a non-exec.

And “owing to concerns expressed by some investors”, fellow non-exec Grant King has decided that he will not stand for election at the 2017 annual general meeting. read more

By Ewan Murrie: BBC Scotland news website: 15 July 2017

Scotland’s largest animal welfare charity has announced that it has sold its investments in an oil company that tests products on animals.

The Scottish SPCA move came after it faced public criticism for holding a £600,000 stake in Royal Dutch Shell.

Shell has admitted experiments on animals including rabbits, rodents, birds and fish.

The Scottish SPCA said it had sold the shares following “a full review” of its investment portfolio.

The charity had argued that most of its shares in Shell had been donated by supporters – but did admit to buying some shares back in 2005.

Figures published on Shell’s website show the firm was involved with laboratory experiments on more than 100,000 animals in 2015.

Critics had accused the charity of dragging its feet on the issue, which was brought to its attention by journalists in November last year. read more

5 July 2017

Shell is removing life-sized cardboard cutouts of a female employee from all of its Malaysian petrol stations after “distasteful” images appeared online.

Pictures of men kissing the figure, holding her hand and touching her chest and crotch have gone viral on Facebook and other social media.

Malaysia is a Muslim-majority country which has seen religious conservatism on the rise in recent years.

Shell said the acts went against local culture and its own values.

The energy giant, which has more than 950 outlets in Malaysia, said it would not condone the “distasteful and suggestive acts”, which it said were “disrespectful”. read more

29 June 2017

The widows of four men executed by Nigeria’s military regime in 1995 are suing oil giant Shell for alleged complicity in a military crackdown.

The civil case, filed in The Hague in the Netherlands, argues that the company provided support to the army, which ultimately led to the executions.

Shell has repeatedly denied the claims.

Ken Saro-Wiwa was the best known of the nine men executed. He led protests against the environmental damage caused by oil production in the Niger Delta. read more

1 June 2017 

Ninety jobs are to go at oil giant Shell’s North Sea headquarters in Aberdeen.

Shell said the cuts would help it maintain competitiveness and ensure the long-term sustainability of the North Sea business.

Of the 90 posts going, half are full-time employees with the rest made up of agency staff and contractors.

The jobs are expected to go by the end of the year.

Shell’s 1,700-strong workforce in Aberdeen were told about the redundancies at meetings on Thursday morning.

No jobs will be lost offshore.

Shell announced in January it had agreed to sell $3.8bn (£2.46bn) worth of North Sea assets to oil exploration firm Chrysaor. read more

4 May 2017

The Anglo-Dutch giant said profits on a current cost of supply measure – which strips out price fluctuations – jumped to $3.4bn (£2.6bn) from $1bn last year.

A 55% rise in oil prices in the first quarter of 2017 compared with a year earlier was the main driver of profits.

Shell joins rivals BP, Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Total in reporting better-than-expected results.

More than $1bn in cost savings and budget cuts made over the past three years from cost-cuts and assets sales have also helped to increase cash flow and boost profits. read more

SEE BBC WORLD SERVICE VIDEO

11 April 2017

Shell has admitted for the first time it dealt with a convicted money-launderer when negotiating access to a vast oil field in Nigeria. It comes after emails were published showing Shell negotiated with Dan Etete, who was later convicted of money laundering in a separate case. Shell and an Italian oil company paid $1.3bn (£1bn) to the Nigerian government for access to the field. Investigators claim $1.1bn was passed to a firm controlled by Mr Etete.

Shell and the Italian firm ENI agreed a deal with the Nigerian government for the rights to exploit OPL 245, a prime oil block off the coast of the Niger Delta. read more

By Rebecca CurranBBC Scotland reporter: 10 April 2017

Environmental groups claim Shell’s plans to decommission one of the North Sea’s most iconic fields could breach international law.

The oil giant lodged plans to decommission the Brent field with the UK government in February.

It wants to leave the legs of three of the platforms in place rather than removing them, which Shell has described as the safest option.

Environmentalists say the plans are not detailed enough to justify the move. read more

Simon JackBusiness editor

The BBC has seen evidence that top executives at Shell knew money paid to the Nigerian government for a vast oil field would be passed to a convicted money-launderer.

It also had reason to believe that money would be used to pay political bribes.

The deal was concluded while Shell was operating under a probation order for a separate corruption case in Nigeria.

Shell said it did not believe its employees acted illegally.

OPL 245 is an oilfield off the coast of Nigeria whose estimated nine billion barrels of oil are worth nearly half a trillion dollars at today’s prices. Shell has been active in Nigeria for nearly 60 years and was keen to acquire the field. read more

19 October 2016

The son of renowned Nigerian environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was executed more than 20 years ago, has died in London.

Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr, 47, passed away after suffering a stroke, his family say.

He was a journalist who became a presidential adviser.

The 1995 execution of his father by a military government for leading protests against environmental degradation caused by the oil industry sparked global outrage.

Saro-Wiwa Sr led the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Mosop), which accused oil multinational Shell of destroying the environment in his home region of Ogoniland in south-eastern Nigeria. read more

Unite and the RMT union are representing about 350 workers involved in a dispute over pay and conditions with oil services company Wood Group.

Some workers claim they are facing cuts of up to 30%. Wood Group denies this.

The Aberdeen-based firm provides maintenance and construction to Shell and signed a three-year extension to its contract earlier this year.

Unite said the unions offered to suspend industrial action if Wood Group removed the current proposal for changes to pay and conditions in full, to allow further talks. read more

25 July 2016

Oil prices have fallen to a three-month low, hit by rising concerns that a global oversupply of both crude and natural gas will dampen prices.

US oil fell 2.4% to $43.11 (£32.72) a barrel, its lowest level since April, meaning it has now fallen by 12% so far this month.

Brent crude dropped 2.1% to $44.75, its lowest level since 10 May.

Shares in oil and firms also lost ground, with Exxon Mobil shares down 1.8% and Chevron down 2.6%.

“Crude oil markets have been under pressure as oil supplies have started growing with the resumption of output from the capacity lost due to wildfires in the Canadian oil sands,” said EY energy analyst Sanjeev Gupta. read more

Hundreds of RMT and Unite union members who work for Wood Group are set to stage the 24-hour industrial action on Tuesday in a dispute over pay.

It will be the first industrial action of its kind in the offshore oil and gas industry in almost 30 years.

But how do you actually conduct a strike on a North Sea oil platform?

Those union members involved on the seven Shell platforms will go to designated areas – but will respond should there be an emergency situation.

There will not be the traditional high-profile picket lines that people associate with strikes on land. read more

13 July 2016

Members of two unions at oil and gas company Wood Group have voted in favour of going on strike.

Unite and the RMT have been in dispute with the firm over what the trade unions have described as a “swingeing” proposed pay cut.

Unite’s ballot had a turnout of 86.6% and 99.1% voted for strike action, while 98.5% of the RMT’s turnout of 67% also backed taking the same action.

Wood Group said it was “extremely disappointed” by the results.

It said it has addressed every significant concern and a resolution to the dispute would safeguard jobs. read more

Friday, 1 July 2016

Royal Dutch Shell’s chief executive has told the BBC he is taking “a good look” at the company’s North Sea assets, in the light of weak oil prices.

Ben van Beurden said that some older fields might be sold and others decommissioned.

He also said the company’s dividend payout was “safe and secure”, despite tough conditions for oil companies.

With an annual payout of $15bn (£11bn), Shell is the biggest payer of dividends among UK companies. read more

By Simon Read: Personal finance reporter: 15 June 2016

Some 35 of the biggest UK firms with pension deficits pay more in dividends than their shortfalls, analysis shows.

Pension firm AJ Bell calculated that 54 FTSE 100 companies had paid out £48bn to shareholders a year in the past two years.

That’s almost equal to the total £52bn recorded deficit of their combined pension schemes in 2014.

“The plights of BHS and Tata Steel have brought this into focus,” said Russ Mould, investment director of AJ Bell. read more

The cuts are mainly due to Shell’s takeover of oil and gas exploration firm BG Group and prolonged low oil prices, it said.

Shell has announced more than 10,000 job losses over the past two years.

In February, the firm posted its steepest fall in full-year earnings for 13 years.

“Despite the improvements that we have made to our business, current market conditions remain challenging,” said Shell UK and Ireland vice president Paul Goodfellow.

“Our integration with BG provides an opportunity to accelerate our performance in this ‘lower for longer’ environment. read more

The oil firm said it would reduce investment to $30bn from a planned $33bn, after coming under pressure from shareholders to cut costs.

Shell also said profits in the three months to March had fallen to $800m from $4.8bn a year earlier.

Oil prices have fallen sharply over the past 18 months.

On average, in the first three months of 2016 oil prices stood at about $35 a barrel, down from a peak of $115 a barrel in June 2014.

Excluding one-off items, Shell’s preferred measure of profit, earnings fell to $1.6bn from $3.8bn in the quarter. read more

The company is cutting more than 10,000 jobs across the world, with 2,800 of those connected with the BG deal.

Shell plans to close the Thames Valley Park campus by the end of the year.

All Aberdeen-based onshore operations will move to Tullos, with BG’s offices at Albyn Place closing, as will Shell’s Brabazon House office in Manchester.

Shell said the decisions were subject to the outcome of staff consultation.

The company is also planning to open a voluntary redundancy arrangement at Thames Valley Park. read more

14 April 2016

BP shareholders have rejected a pay package of almost £14m for chief executive Bob Dudley at the oil company’s annual general meeting.

Just over 59% of investors rejected Mr Dudley’s 20% increase, one of the largest rejections to date of a corporate pay deal in the UK.

The vote is non-binding on BP, but earlier, chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg promised to review future pay terms.

Mr Dudley received the rise despite BP’s falling profits and job cuts.

The final voting figures will be released later, with some major investors abstaining. read more

By John McManus: BBC News: 14 April 2016

The head of energy giant Shell’s UK and Ireland operations has said the UK government should have continued to support a scheme to develop carbon capture technology.

The technology – to store carbon emissions from fossil fuels underground – was being developed at Peterhead power station with the help of Shell.

Chancellor George Osborne cancelled the competition in his Autumn Statement.

Shell’s Paul Goodfellow said the technology needed more development. read more

The oil giant said it was cooperating with the authorities.

The probe is connected to the 2011 $1.3bn purchase of Nigeria’s OPL-245 offshore oil block by Eni and Shell.

As part of the investigation, Shell headquarters in The Hague were searched in February by Dutch police and prosecutors, a spokesman added.

“We can confirm we have received notice of proceedings from the public prosecutor in Italy,” the Shell spokesman said.

In 2014 a Milan court starting probing Italian oil giant Eni over allegations of corruption connected to the OPL-245 offshore oil block acquisition. read more

Tuesday 15 March 2016

Nigeria’s state-owned oil company has failed to pay the government $16bn (£11bn) in a suspected fraud, according to an official audit.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) provided no explanation for the missing funds, the auditor general told MPs.

Oil revenue accounts for two-thirds of the government’s funding.

President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to crack down on corruption since coming to office last May.

The NNPC has not commented on the auditor general’s findings.

The state oil giant has been mired in corruption allegations and losing money for many years.

Last month, the government announced that the NNPC would be broken up into seven different companies.

Nigeria’s former central bank governor Lamido Sanusi, now the Emir of Kano, was dismissed by the previous administration after saying that $20bn (£12bn) in oil revenue had gone missing in 2013. read more

Two communities are claiming compensation and want Shell to clean up their land.

Shell said it is at an “early stage” in reviewing the claims and that the case should be heard in Nigeria.

The Ogale community of about 40,000 people in Rivers State, on the coast of Nigeria, who are mainly farmers or fishermen, are some of the claimants.

Their case is being handled by law firm Leigh Day.

Spills since 1989 have meant they don’t have clean drinking water, farmland or rivers, their claim says. read more

23 FEB 2016

Investment in new offshore oil and gas projects is collapsing despite cost-cutting efforts, according to a report.

Industry Body Oil and Gas UK said that less than £1bn was expected to be spent on new projects this year, compared to a typical £8bn per year in the last five years.

Its new 2016 activity survey said this was despite costs dropping.

Oil and Gas UK said exploration remained at an all-time low with no sign of improving.

The survey said the industry’s drive to improve efficiency, reduce operating costs and increase production has had “marked success”. read more

Royal Dutch Shell has confirmed it is cutting 10,000 jobs amid its steepest fall in annual profits for 13 years.

It made $1.8bn (£1.23bn) for the fourth quarter of the year, compared with a $4.2bn profit for the same period the year before.

Full-year 2015 earnings, excluding identified items, were $10.7bn, compared with $22.6 billion in 2014.

The oil firm indicated it would report a massive drop in profits two weeks ago.

The company reports earnings on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis.

Last week, shareholders in Shell, which is Europe’s largest oil company, voted in favour of its takeover of smaller rival BG Group.

The company cut back hard on investment.

Its capital spending for the year was slashed to $28.9bn, $8.4bn lower than in 2014. read more