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

The Telegraph

Shell in talks with Government as ministers consider new windfall tax

Oil and gas giant did not pay any tax in Britain, despite an existing windfall scheme

By Rachel Millard: 27 October 2022 • 5:48pm

Shell is in talks with the Government as ministers consider a fresh windfall tax on oil and gas companies to help fill a £35bn black hole in the public finances.

Ben van Buerden, chief executive of the oil and gas giant, said he accepted the case for higher taxes after the industry was boosted by surging fossil fuel prices following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. read more

Shell to give staff 8% bonus after record profits

WED, 03 AUG, 2022 – 15:58

Shell employees will get a one-off 8% bonus after the energy company reported record profits from massive energy price hikes.

Most staff at the oil giant – which employs around 82,000 people worldwide – will be eligible for the pay boost.

Just those at executive vice president level or higher will be excluded from the taxable payout.

Shell said the award reflects the company’s current financial success but has no link to the rising cost of living challenges.

A Shell spokesperson said: “In recognition of the contribution our people have made to Shell’s strong operational performance against a recent challenging backdrop, our executive committee has decided to make a Special Recognition Award of 8% of salary to all eligible staff across the world. read more

The Telegraph

Shell and British Gas owner post record profits as energy bills surge 

James Warrington: 28 JULY 2022 • 12:28PM

Shell and the owner of British Gas are handing billions of pounds back to shareholders as Russia’s war in Ukraine drives record-breaking profits.

Shell will repurchase a further $6bn (£4.9bn) of shares in the third quarter, having already bought back $8.5bn of stock in the first half of the year.

It came after the FTSE 100 company’s profit jumped to $11.5bn in the three months to the end of June – its second consecutive quarter of record profits – as it cashed in on high oil and gas prices. read more

CITYA.M.

Happy as a clam: Shell raises value of oil and gas assets as refining soars

NICHOLAS EARL: THURSDAY 07 JULY 2022 3:28 PM

Shell has announced it will reverse up to $4.5bn in write-downs taken on the value of its oil and gas assets after raising its energy prices outlook following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent disruption to fossil fuel trading across the world.

In an update ahead of its second quarter results on July 28, the energy giant revealed its refining margins almost tripled over the three-month period. 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

The Guardian

Shell U-turn on Cambo oilfield would threaten green targets, say campaigners

Company is reviewing decision to withdraw from North Sea project because of high oil price, report claims

Jasper Jolly: Tue 22 Mar 2022 09.41 GMT

Climate activists have reacted with concern to reports that Shell is reconsidering its decision to abandon development of the Cambo oilfield, warning that such a reversal would further threaten emissions reductions targets.

The fossil fuel producer could U-turn on a decision to pull out of the North Sea project because the “economic, political and regulatory environment had changed enormously since the decision was announced just three months ago”, according to sources cited by the BBC. read more

The Guardian

New calls for windfall tax as Shell unveils highest quarterly profit in eight years

Jillian Ambrose and agency: Thu 3 Feb 2022 12.13 GMT

Shell has cashed in on rocketing oil and gas markets by quadrupling its profits to historic highs, fuelling fresh calls for a windfall tax on fossil fuel giants to help hard-pressed households cope with record energy bills.

The UK’s Labour party has called for the government to fund measures to help British households weather the cost of living crisis by imposing a windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas producers. read more

London Evening Standard

Shell to hand £6bn to shareholders as oil and gas prices soar

The business said profits have risen dramatically in the last few months.

By August Graham: 3 Feb 2022

It has been a bumper three months for energy giant Shell, which managed to increase its profits nearly fourteen-fold amid soaring oil and gas prices.

As prices surged, the company’s upstream unit was able to collect 8.88 dollars for every thousand cubic feet of gas it sold to customers over the last quarter of 2021.

Just six months earlier gas had been selling for 4.31 dollars, less than half of its most recent level. read more

Mirror

UK oil and gas giants raked in £10BILLION in just THREE months as energy bills soar

By Ben Glaze Deputy Political Editor: Pippa Crerar Daily Mirror Political Editor: 7 Jan 2022

Shell and BP reported the combined profits, dividends and buybacks just as wholesale gas prices began to soar. The two firms have had £660 million in tax credits in the last five years

The UK’s biggest oil and gas companies raked in £10.2billion in just three months last year, figures reveal.

Shell and BP reported the combined profits, dividends and buybacks just as wholesale gas prices began to soar. read more

The Telegraph

Shell to boost dividend as profits rise

ByTelegraph Reporters 7 July 2021 • 12:12pm

Royal Dutch Shell plans to increase payouts to shareholders amid the recovery in the global economy.

The oil giant will raise dividends to within the range of 20pc to 30pc of cash flow from operations, starting from its second quarter results on July 29.

It said the move comes on the back of a “strong operational and financial delivery, combined with an improved macro-economic outlook”.

Oil prices have been rebounding as demand for crude has begun to recover, with many countries now emerging out of coronavirus lockdowns thanks to vaccination programmes. read more

OILPRICE.com

The Unintended Consequences Of Punishing Big Oil

By Tsvetana Paraskova – Jun 23, 2021, 12:00 PM CDT

The ‘day of reckoning’ for Big Oil, when events at boardrooms and courtrooms issued last month the starkest warning to oil majors’ license to operate yet, was hailed as a huge victory for climate activists. But the climate celebration may be a bit premature.

Rebel shareholder votes at Exxon and Chevron and a court ruling against Shell delivered a blow to Big Oil in a single day, and environmentalists are ecstatic. read more

OilPrice.com

Forget Activism: Chronic Underperformance Is Big Oil’s Biggest Problem

By Alex Kimani – Jun 06, 2021, 7:00 PM CDT

Engine No. 1 has told the Financial Times that Exxon will need to cut fossil fuel production for the company to position itself for long-term success, “What we’re saying is, plan for a world where maybe the world doesn’t need your barrels,” Engine No.1 leader Charlie Penner has told FT.

Meanwhile, a Dutch court has ordered Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) to cut its greenhouse gas emissions harder and faster than it had previously planned.

Whereas climate change issues are the presumptive reasons behind the latest wave of investor revolts at the oil and gas giants, lurking beneath the surface is a growing sense of apprehension about Big Oil’s strategy and failure to generate adequate returns for shareholders in recent decades. read more

Shell raises dividend for second time in six months after first-quarter earnings beat forecasts

Sam Meredith: PUBLISHED THU, APR 29 20212:09 AM EDT

• The Anglo-Dutch company reported adjusted earnings of $3.2 billion for the three months through to the end of March. Analysts had expected $3.1 billion, according to Refinitiv.
• Shell also raised its dividend by around 4%, its second increase in six months.
• It comes as energy majors seek to reassure investors that they have gained a more stable footing in recent months.

LONDON — Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday reported slightly better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, amid stronger commodity prices and growing expectations of a fuel demand recovery.

Shell also raised its dividend by around 4%, its second increase in six months, as the oil major seeks to reassure investors it has gained a more stable footing. It comes after Shell slashed its payout for the first time since World War II in April last year. read more

Will Big Oil’s Huge Carbon Capture Bet Pay Off?

By Tsvetana Paraskova – Apr 21, 2021, 1:00 PM CDT

“We’re sending carbon back where it came from,” Norway’s energy giant Equinor says, describing its efforts to make carbon capture and storage (CCS) commercially viable in a future decarbonized energy system. Equinor is a joint venture partner with two other oil majors, Shell and Total, in developing the Northern Lights project in Norway, which is planned to deliver carbon storage as a service to help third-party industries to reduce emissions. read more

Shell looks to Gulf of Mexico for lower carbon oil drilling; here’s what it means for Louisiana

• BY KRISTEN MOSBRUCKER | STAFF WRITER
• PUBLISHED APR 14, 2021 AT 5:00 PM | UPDATED APR 14, 2021 AT 7:43 PM

Despite headwinds from corporate mandates to reduce carbon emissions, a temporarily halt for new federal leases in the Gulf of Mexico while the Biden administration reviews its impact on climate change and low oil prices, Royal Dutch Shell sees itself drilling for more oil off the coast of Louisiana and Texas.

“We still think that we’ll be here for decades to come,” said Rick Tallant, vice president Gulf of Mexico at Shell. “There’s still a lot of running room in the Gulf of Mexico, the margins are very good for our investors and the greenhouse gas intensity is arguably the best in the industry.” read more

Houston, We Have A Problem. Oil Reserves Have Fallen Below 10 Years

Big oil has a big problem. It’s running out of oil.

Years of under-investment in exploration and a decline in project development has blown a hole in the reserves of the major international oil companies (IOCs), a group that includes ExxonMobil, Chevron and Royal Dutch Shell.

Since 2015 the average reserves of the oil majors has fallen by 25% to now stand at less than 10 years of annual production.

Reserves in the ground is a critical measure of an oil company with a decline seen as a negative by investors. read more

Shell’s oil trading earnings double in 2020 to $2.6 bln

By Reuters Staff: 1 MIN READ: MARCH 12, 2021: 10:58 AM

LONDON, March 12 (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell’s 2020 earnings from crude oil and refined products trading nearly doubled from the previous year to $2.6 billion, according to the company’s annual report.

Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Edmund Blair

SOURCE

Shell Shuts Down 310,000 Bpd Deer Park Refinery

By Charles Kennedy – Feb 15, 2021, 9:30 AM CST

Shell has shut down the crude distillation units of its Deer Park refinery due to a malfunction, Reuters has reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

The two crude distillation units have a combined capacity of 310,000 barrels of oil daily. According to the Reuters sources, they were shut down after a seal failed on a pump that feeds crude to other units at the refinery. read more

Hedge funds bet on oil’s ‘big comeback’ after pandemic hobbles producers

FILE PHOTO: A combination of file photos shows the logos of five of the largest publicly traded oil companies; BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, and Total. REUTERS/File Photo

By Maiya Keidan, Rod Nickel: 5 MIN READ: FEBRUARY 7, 20212:20 PM

TORONTO (Reuters) – Hedge funds are turning bullish on oil once again, betting the pandemic and investors’ environmental focus has severely damaged companies’ ability to ramp up production. read more

Oil giant Shell follows rivals into huge loss

“2020 was an extraordinary year,” said Chief Executive Ben van Beurden. “We have taken tough but decisive actions,” he said, with Shell having already announced plans to axe up to 9,000 jobs, or more than 10 percent of its global workforce.

Published on: Friday, February 05, 2021: By AFP

LONDON: Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday became the latest oil major to reveal huge annual losses as the coronavirus pandemic slashed energy demand and prices in 2020.

Shell dived into a net loss of $21.7 billion (18.1 billion euros) last year as factories shut and planes were grounded. read more

Shell makes record loss in 2020 after more write-offs

Published date: 04 February 2021

Shell posted a record loss in 2020 after it booked more hefty write-offs in the fourth quarter.

Excluding inventory effects, Shell made a loss of $4.48bn in the October-December period, compared with a profit of $871mn a year earlier. The quarterly loss was largely driven by pre-announced, non-cash post-tax impairment charges of $2.7bn and charges of $1.1bn mainly for “onerous contract provisions”. read more

AskWonder.com: Research on external factors (suppliers, customers, competition, environment, etc) that are influencing Royal Dutch Shell at the moment. Delivered January 30th, 2017.

Links to royaldutchshellplc.com and royaldutchshellgroup.com as reference sources.

Aberdeen job cuts loom as Shell retrenches in North Sea

By Mark Williamson  @MarkWHerald: Group Business Correspondent

ROYAL Dutch Shell has announced plans to cut around 330 jobs in its UK North Sea oil and gas business which is run from Aberdeen.

The cuts will reduce total employee numbers in the Anglo-Dutch giant’s North Sea business to around 1,000.

It is understood the bulk of the cuts will affect office-based roles in Aberdeen.

The cuts are being made under a programme initiated by Shell amid the oil price plunge that was triggered by the coronavirus crisis. read more

Shell fourth quarter 2020 update note

The Hague, December 21, 2020 − This is an update to the fourth quarter 2020 outlook provided in the third quarter results announcement on October 29, 2020. The impacts presented here may vary from the actual results and are subject to finalisation of the fourth quarter 2020 results.

This update note is presented based on prevailing commodity prices and forward curves, further movements and volatility till the end of the year are likely to impact earnings and CFFO. read more

Oil majors wipe $80 billion off books as epidemic, energy transition bite

By Ron Bousso: Tue, 1 December 2020, 12:43 pm GMT

By Ron Bousso

LONDON (Reuters) – The world’s top energy companies have slashed the value of their oil and gas assets by around $80 billion (60.05 billion pounds) in recent months after revising lower the long-term outlook for fuel prices in the wake of the coronavirus epidemic and the energy transition.

Exxon Mobil, the largest U.S. oil company, announced on Monday it would write down the value of natural gas properties by $17 billion to $20 billion, its biggest ever impairment following the sharp drop in energy prices this year. read more

“Fossil fuel companies, like tobacco companies before them, have allowed governments to pay for the harms caused by their products“…

5 legal tactics environmentalists are using to fight climate change

Activists are increasingly using litigation as a tool to influence climate action worldwide. Here’s a look at some of the main tactics they’re wielding to force change on fossil fuel firms and weak government policies.

More than 700 climate lawsuits have been filed around the world since 2015, according to the Climate Change Litigation Databases. That’s a huge increase, considering there have only been about 1,700 of these types of cases since the late 1980s, most of them in the US. read more

Shell Canada gives customers option to offset their carbon emissions for two cents per litre

Shell: Regaining Dividend Respectability And Shifting Toward Green Hydrogen

The Daily Drilling Report: 10 November 2020

• Shell is taking a healthy approach toward energy transition and balancing capital projects in terms of energy source.
• It’s also forging a leadership position in two key fuels that have been identified as being crucial to meeting Paris Climate goals – natural gas and hydrogen.
• Shell is back in our good grades with its recent dividend raise and strong earnings prospects going forward.
• At its recent price in the mid-$20s it represents a nice risk reward profile.

The question is, is the dividend safe? The answer here is yes, as it has just been raised. It seems Uncle Ben has heard the hue and cry of outraged shareholders, and is restoring some of what he took away just last quarter.

Ben Van Beurden, CEO Shell:

So we are announcing an increase of 4% in our dividends this quarter. But we’re also announcing a target milestone for our net debt of $65 billion for the near term. And once we have achieved this milestone, we target to further increase shareholder distribution. So we are not offering the promise of future growth, but also increasing shareholder distributions for the near term. read more

Shell to axe refining plants and focus on dividends and debt reduction

Philip Whiterow: 07:31 Thu 29 Oct 2020

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (LON:RDSB) has unveiled a huge restructuring of its refining and chemical operations as part of a strategic overhaul that places dividends at its centre.

The Anglo-Dutch giant said its fourteen refining sites will be reduced to six integrated chemical parks, with a switch in focus to performance chemicals and recycled feedstocks.

Shell’s marketing arm will also be strengthened with the development of the integrated power business and hydrogen and biofuels. read more

The Big Oil Side Hustle: Where ‘Renewable’ Money Is Really Going

By Alex Kimani – Oct 20, 2020, 6:00 PM CDT

In 2016, Shell set an ambitious goal to invest $4bn to $6bn in clean energy projects by 2020, though the Guardian recently reported that it was unlikely to meet that target. So, why is Big Oil still dragging its feet…

Every time an oil and gas major announces a major foray into renewable energy, the skeptics come out like clockwork and lambast the sector for merely trying to burnish its green credentials. read more

INSIGHT- In the run-up to U.S. election, drilling lobby promotes natural gas as “clean”

By Valerie Volcovici, Andrew R.C. Marshall and Matthew Green: AUGUST 18, 2020

WASHINGTON/LONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) – America’s biggest oil and gas lobby group is ramping up its advertising spending ahead of the November election to persuade voters that natural gas is a climate-friendly fuel, according to ad buying data.

The campaign by the American Petroleum Institute (API), targeted at younger voters and some tight congressional races, is part of a global battle by the drilling industry to assuage growing fears over the role of natural gas in driving climate change. read more

Big Oil’s Most Profitable Business Is No Longer Oil

By Haley Zaremba – Aug 06, 2020, 4:00 PM CDT

It’s been a rough year for oil, to say that least. And the worst isn’t over yet. Even though oil demand, and therefore oil prices, have been slowly recovering, that upward trajectory is now running out of steam and we’re headed toward a slump amidst what will almost certainly be a yearslong recession in the wake of the economic fallout from the devastating spread of the novel coronavirus. read more

Shell avoids loss with strong trading, wipes $17 billion off assets

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) avoided its first quarterly loss in recent history, helped by a booming trading business, but announced nearly $17 billion in impairment charges reflecting a pessimistic outlook for oil and gas prices.

Shell had warned last month it was set to slash the value of its oil and gas assets by up to $22 billion as the coronavirus crisis hollowed out energy demand.

“Shell has delivered resilient cash flow in a remarkably challenging environment,” CEO Ben van Beurden said in a statement on Thursday. read more

Coronavirus Takes a Toll on Shell Imposing $15-$22B Write-Offs

What Does the Record Write-Down Imply?

The energy industry, grappling with the twin demerits of oversupply and low pricing, expects the weak macro environment to persist. Companies like Shell and BP are carrying assets on their balance sheets that were purchased/developed at a time when commodity prices were materially higher than the current figures. As the market deteriorates, the operators are ultimately forced to take write-offs. 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

By Nick Cunningham – Jun 30, 2020, 5:00 PM CDT

Royal Dutch Shell said that it could cut the value of its oil and gas assets by as much as $22 billion, as it takes a dim view of the state of the oil market. The move adds more evidence to the notion that a huge slice of oil reserves will wind up as stranded assets.  Shell cut its Brent oil prices forecast from $60 per barrel to $35 for this year, and lowered its 2021 and 2022 forecasts to $40 and $50 per barrel, respectively, down from $60 previously. The lower outlook reflects the expected damage to the oil market due to the coronavirus and the negative impacts on the global economy, Shell said. read more

Shell boss ‘bothered’ by depiction of firm as ‘unwelcome player’ in energy transition

Royal Dutch Shell Plc had been turning out about 2.7 million barrels of oil each day until the novel coronavirus took hold of the world.

By Bloomberg: 09/06/2020

Demand for oil, the company’s core product, dropped almost a third in April, and the price of West Texas Intermediate briefly dipped into negative numbers for the first time.

It’s not easy to run an oil major when people suddenly stop needing oil.

Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden responded by slashing spending and cutting Shell’s dividend for the first time since World War II. read more

Bloomberg News: Jacqueline Poh: May 29, 2020: 10:51 AM EDT

Bloomberg) — Oil and gas companies worldwide have raised $171 billion of debt from the loan and bond markets since March after the coronavirus pandemic hit demand for fuel.

The $171 billion tally is equivalent to the volume of bonds sold for the industry in the whole year of 2019. The debt pile is set to grow further with almost $120 billion of borrowings due by the end of the year that will need to be either repaid or refinanced. Of that amount, $43 billion is in bonds and $76 billion in loans. read more

Shell Offers Staff Voluntary Severance Pay

By Julianne Geiger – May 21, 2020, 5:30 PM CDT

As the price of a Brent barrel is trading at nearly half of what it was at the beginning of the year, Royal Dutch Shell Plc (NYSE: RDS.A) is planning on offering some staff voluntary severance, according to Bloomberg sources.

In a note to its staff, Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said that the Dutch oil major was working to become leaner and more resilient, according to the Bloomberg sources who saw the correspondence. read more

By Elizabeth May | Opinion | May 12th 2020

It has been an interesting week. On the morning of May 6, I held a press conference in West Block before the weekly in-person session of Parliament opened. I spoke about how virtual Parliament is working, and Green recommendations to make it work better.

When we got to questions, the first one was CBC’s Julie Van Dusen. She asked about a possible bailout to Big Oil. And I explained that the evidence was coming in thick and fast that oil’s day was done. And she zeroed in on: “Are you saying oil is dead?” read more

Big Oil Earnings Battered By Virus, But Worst is Yet to Come

Laura Hurst: May 11 2020, 4:31 AM

EXTRACTS

(Bloomberg) — Big Oil emerged from first-quarter earnings battered and bruised, but things are only going to get uglier.

Major oil and gas producers from Norway to the U.S. saw profit plunge in the opening three months of the year. Exxon Mobil Corp. reported its first loss in over 30 years, Royal Dutch Shell Plc cut its dividend for the first time since the Second World War.

Big Oil’s generous dividends have long been its main attraction to investors. But thanks to Shell Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden they are no longer sacrosanct, after he slashed his company’s payout by two thirds. read more

By Nick Cunningham – May 04, 2020, 5:00 PM CDT

Exxon posted its first quarterly loss in more than 30 years. But even as debt mounts and questions arise about peak oil demand, the oil supermajor nevertheless vowed to protect its dividend while also aiming to grow indefinitely into the future. Exxon lost $610 million in the first quarter, down from a profit of $2.4 billion a year earlier. Worse, the period only included a few weeks of oil prices at catastrophically low levels. As a result, the second quarter is bound to lead dramatically worse numbers. 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

Bloomberg News: Javier Blas: April 26, 2020

(Bloomberg) — Negative oil prices, ships dawdling at sea with unwanted cargoes, and traders getting creative about where to stash oil. The next chapter in the oil crisis is now inevitable: great swathes of the petroleum industry are about to start shutting down.

The economic impact of the coronavirus has ripped through the oil industry in dramatic phases. First it destroyed demand as lockdowns shut factories and kept drivers at home. Then storage started filling up and traders resorted to ocean-going tankers to store crude in the hope of better prices ahead. read more

8 April 2020

ROYAL Dutch Shell received around $110 million (£87m) more back from the UK Government in respect of its oil and gas exploration and production activity than it paid in taxes last year, the company has revealed.

In a report on the payments it made to governments in 2019 the oil giant disclosed that it received tax rebates in respect of its UK North Sea business totalling $116 million. These dwarfed the $6.5m that the company paid in fees.

The report highlights the value of the tax relief provided to firms in respect of the costs of decommissioning North Sea facilities. read more

RTTNews.com

(RTTNews) – Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDS-B, RDSB.L, RDSA.L, RDS-A) Tuesday said it expects to record post-tax impairment charges in the range of $400 million to $800 million for the first quarter, based on changes to oil price outlook for 2020.

In its first-quarter trading update, the company said it expects Integrated Gas production to be between 920 and 970 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day. LNG liquefaction volumes are expected to be between 8.8 and 9.2 million tonnes.

In the Upstream, production for the quarter is expected to be between 2,650 and 2,720 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day. read more

Shares in Shell and BP still part of the scheme

Jon Stone Policy Correspondent @joncstone: 24 March 2020

The parliamentary pension fund for MPs is still investing in fossil fuels despite parliament declaring a climate emergency, new figures show.

The fund is still heavily invested in Shell (£8m) and BP (£4.4m) despite over 350 current and former MPs backing a campaign to set a good example by diverting cash elsewhere.

MPs have however welcomed news in the fund’s latest filings that it is increasingly shifting its cash towards renewable energy – with five per cent of investments going to the green sector for the first time. read more

Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell (RDSB.L) has announced plans to cut costs, slash planned spending, and abandon a share buyback, as businesses look to hold on to cash in response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Shell said on Monday it would cut operating costs by up to $4bn over the next 12 months and reduce planned spending by $5bn in 2020. The company is also abandoning a planned $1bn share buyback.

Ben van Beurden, chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell, said the cash conservation measures were driven by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has led to a slump in demand for oil as the global economy grinds to a halt, and the oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia. read more

BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc are exploring adding more ethanol in gasoline in top corn state Iowa to take advantage of how cheap the biofuel has become.

The oil majors are gauging driver interest at a small number of stations in 15% ethanol blends, up from the current state standard of 10%, after the Trump administration in May allowed an increase nationwide.

Adding more ethanol to gasoline may help Midwest farmers who have been struggling to find markets for corn after biofuels demand plateaued last year. Ethanol futures slumped to the lowest in more than a decade in 2019, making it unprofitable to make the biofuel that accounts for about a third of demand for the U.S. corn crop. But cheap ethanol won’t save drivers much money: At current prices, filling up a Ford-F150 would only cost about a quarter less. read more