Oil Prices

Shell poised to dethrone Exxon in oil titans’ cash clash

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Ron Bousso: 1 FEB 2018 LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell could usurp its largest rival Exxon Mobil as the energy sector’s biggest cash generator after higher oil and gas prices combined with an improved performance lifted its 2017 revenue.Chief Executive Ben van Beurden has made no secret of his desire to challenge the dominance of the world’s largest listed oil company after its $54 billion purchase of BG Group in 2016 catapulted Shell into second place in terms of production.

The Anglo-Dutch company on Thursday reported a more than doubling of profit in 2017 to $16 billion, the highest since the start of the 2014 downturn as the effect of years of costs cuts and the integration of BG Group filtered through.

“We enter 2018 with continued discipline and confidence, committed to the delivery of strong returns and cash,” van Beurden said in a statement.

Shell’s shares were 1.1 percent lower at 0842 GMT, compared with a slightly positive open for the FTSE 100 index. read more

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Shell Makes as Much Money at $60 a Barrel as When It Was $100

Feb 1st, 2018

by John Donovan.

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The oil-price rally worked both ways for Royal Dutch Shell Plc as improved exploration and production lifted profit to a three-year high while refining and trading fell short of expectations as margins shrank.

Crude’s surge raised adjusted profit at Europe’s largest energy company to $4.3 billion last quarter, the highest since 2014. While the bottom line was better than expected — and Shell is making as much money with oil at $60 a barrel as when it was $100 — cash flow was the weakest since 2016. read more

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Shell shielded from Forties fallout by ‘internationalisation’, North Sea sales

Jan 29th, 2018

by John Donovan.

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Written by Mark Lammey – 29/01/2018 7:53 am

Shell is performing “extremely well” at a time when Brent crude is at its highest price for three years, the oil giant’s upcoming fourth quarter results will show.

The Anglo-Dutch major is in its strongest position for many years in terms of its cash generation thanks to its upstream and LNG businesses, analysts said.

RBC Capital Markets anticipates Shell’s fourth-quarter adjusted net income will more than double year-on-year. The company recorded adjusted earnings of £1.3billion in Q4 2016.

Analysts said Shell, whose shares are up about 10% over the last 12 months, had been boosted by the sale of assets and disciplined spending.

The company implemented a £21billion-plus divestment plan following its £47billion mega-merger with BG Group, which was completed in 2016.

As part of that programme, Shell sold about £3billion worth of North Sea assets to Chrysaor in 2017.

RBC analysts said the company would have cashed in £1.1billion in the fourth quarter from the proceeds of UK North Sea sales alone. read more

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Shell earnings expected to hit £11bn after oil prices recover

Jan 28th, 2018

by John Donovan.

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Jillian Ambrose: 28 JANUARY 2018 • 5:04PM

Royal Dutch Shell is set to unveil its highest earnings since the oil market collapse this week, just one year after the oil major’s lowest profits in more than a decade.

The Anglo-Dutch oil group’s efforts to overhaul its portfolio during the depths of the oil market rout are expected to be turbo-charged by the recovery in oil prices to over $65 a barrel last year, from under $30 a barrel at their lowest point in early 2016.

Analysts predict the group’s earnings on a “current cost of supply” basis will be more than $15.7bn (£11bn) for 2017 from just $3.5bn (£2.5bn) the year before. The final quarter of last year is expected to generate higher earnings than the whole of 2016 at $4.2bn (£3bn), according to analyst consensus forecasts. read more

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Shell tipped to double profits as oil price recovers

Jan 28th, 2018

by John Donovan.

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Shell has maintained or increased its dividend every year since the end of the Second World War.

PERRY GOURLEY Published: 23:54 Saturday 27 January 2018

The sustained recovery seen in oil prices is this week expected to see Royal Dutch Shell deliver a doubling in annual profits.

The energy giant, which this month approved its first significant development in the North Sea in more than six years, is predicted to report adjusted earnings of $15.7 billion (£11bn) for 2017, from $7.2bn a year earlier.

The improvement comes as Brent crude has hit $71 a barrel for the first time in more than three years, boosted by supply curbs from oil cartel Opec, a record run of declines in US crude inventories and a weaker US dollar. read more

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Shell sees profits soar

Jan 28th, 2018

by John Donovan.

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January 28 2018, 12:01am

Royal Dutch Shell is forecast to have doubled its annual profits thanks to a resurgent oil price.

Brent crude has soared by 55% since June to more than $70 a barrel last week — a level not seen since the 2014 crash.

The surge is expected to have lifted Shell’s earnings from $7.2bn to $15.7bn last year, according to a consensus of analysts’ forecasts published ahead of this week’s results.

The Anglo-Dutch giant has been cutting costs and reducing debt levels after its 2015 takeover of smaller FTSE 100 rival BG. Last year it sold a large chunk of its North Sea oil fields to private equity-backed Chrysaor for as much as £3bn. read more

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Shell Is Closing In on Exxon’s Crown

Jan 25th, 2018

by John Donovan.

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Even in the dynamic world of business, some things always hold true: the Big Mac outsells the Whopper, Google gets more searches than Bing, and Exxon Mobil Corp. is the world’s biggest public oil company. Or perhaps not.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc is the closest it’s ever been to attaining the long-coveted prize of overtaking its American rival. While the Anglo-Dutch oil major still has some work left to snatch Exxon’s crown, Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden has made getting to the top his restless mission.

“At the moment we are number two and we are closing in on number one,” he said this month. “We almost have the tiger by the tail.”

That van Beurden thinks his goal is even in sight shows the risk he took in doing the industry’s biggest deal in decades is starting to pay off. Meanwhile, the strategy charted by Exxon’s former CEO Rex Tillerson has left the American major slightly adrift, according to investors.

“Ben doesn’t just talk the talk, he walks the walk now,” Richard Hulf, co-manager in Artemis Global Energy Fund, part of a London investment management group that owns both Exxon and Shell shares. “Shell’s got a bit better and Exxon is at a weak point in its cycle.”

The narrowing gap is likely to show through when both companies post earnings next week. Analysts estimate Shell will report $16 billion of profit in 2017 helped by the acquisition of BG Group Plc. Exxon is forecast to report $15.7 billion of earnings, dropping behind its European rival for the first time in at least two decades. Shell is also likely to have churned out more cash from operations than Exxon last year.

It’s the $53 billion BG deal that’s really made a difference. When oil’s crash started in the middle of 2014, just months into Van Beurden’s tenure as Shell’s boss, he saw an opportunity. BG’s oil projects in Brazil and gas in Australia were just starting up, easing uncertainty on future growth. Rumored for years to be a suitor, van Beurden finally made the move for the British company.

The deal immediately put Shell in an exclusive club with Exxon, placing it on a plane above its European rivals Total SA and BP Plc. Some use the phrase ultra-major to differentiate the industry’s big two from the pack – at least until Saudi Aramco’s giant IPO, slated for the end of this year.

It wasn’t all plain sailing. As oil prices continued to slide in 2014, many analysts thought the price tag was excessive, forcing Shell to borrow too much. Van Beurden was staking his reputation on the deal and he pressed on, seeking to create what he often calls a “world-class investment case.” The company was forced to cut costs, sell assets and rein in spending to keep borrowing under control.

Still, in the two years since the BG deal closed, Shell’s B shares in London, the most widely traded, have returned more than five times Exxon’s, reversing the performance of the previous two years and providing superior returns for shareholders.

“Strategically BG was the right deal,” said Iain Pyle, the investment director for U.K. equities at the investment unit of Standard Life Aberdeen Plc, among the largest Shell shareholders. “The only question about it at the time was the price they paid and the stress they put on the balance sheet to do the deal.”

In the start of 2015, before Shell announced the BG deal, Exxon’s market value was about $180 billion more than Shell’s and it had just reported an annual profit $10 billion higher.

Since then, Exxon has struggled to keep the business growing. Exxon’s production in the third quarter was 1.8 percent lower than a year ago while Shell’s rose 1.7 percent. The American company’s oil and gas reserves have also dropped (though this may change this year as it books reserves from a giant discovery off the coast of Guyana in South America.) The gap in the two companies’ market value has more than halved to about $73 billion.

Shell’s record takeover fueled speculation Exxon would snap up a big rival to maintain its world-leader status, but it’s recent deal history hasn’t been a resounding success.

The $35-billion purchase of American shale gas company XTO in 2010 came shortly before gas prices plummeted. It also struck a deal with Rosneft PJSC to explore and develop giant offshore fields in Russia in 2011, right before they became locked behind a wall of U.S. sanctions. These left its “upstream portfolio disadvantaged,” Credit Suisse said. read more

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Oil Companies to Reopen Their Checkbooks as Brent Surpasses $70

Jan 25th, 2018

by John Donovan.

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After more than three years of belt-tightening, a resurgence in crude prices has fueled oil-company optimism, and a readiness to reopen the checkbook.

More than two-thirds of 813 senior oil executives expect increased capital spending in 2018, double last year’s percentage, according to a survey by Norwegian consultants DNV GL. About a third say research and development budgets will rise, and the same number predict hiring will expand.

Underlying those projections is a recovery in Brent crude to $70 a barrel, a level not seen since 2014 and more than double the price two years ago. That’s emboldened major producers to roll back some of the self-help measures they introduced during the downturn. Royal Dutch Shell Plc stopped offering dividends in stock last quarter, while BP Plc has started share buybacks. read more

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Big Oil flush with cash again, but no party yet

Jan 24th, 2018

by John Donovan.

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Ron Bousso: 24 JAN 2018

LONDON (Reuters) – The world’s top oil companies are expected to generate more cash in 2018 than at any other time this decade after three painful years of cuts, but it isn’t party time yet.

The shift in sentiment has been rapid as crude prices have risen by more than 50 percent over the past six months to reach $70 a barrel, a level not seen since the crash year of 2014, thanks to global supply cuts led by OPEC.

Only a year ago, many investors still fretted over the sustainability of the sector’s lavish dividend payouts in a weak energy market. Now the focus on company boards is gradually switching from slashing jobs and investment to boosting shareholders’ returns and growth. read more

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Inside Oil Giant Shell’s Race to Remake Itself For a Low-Price World

Jan 24th, 2018

by John Donovan.

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“I am tasked,” says the oil major’s top futurist about the existential challenge ahead, “with making sure that shell isn’t a dodo.”-Jeremy Bentham, Shell scenarios leader Jeffrey Ball By JEFFREY BALL 6:30 AM EST

Last March, Royal Dutch Shell said it was selling most of its stake in Canada’s oil sands, a vast project that has extracted millions of barrels of sticky, gooey hydrocarbons from the ground in a process that resembles mining more than drilling. The oil and gas giant announced that it was unloading its oil-sands assets, for $7.25 billion, so that it could double down on businesses “where we have global scale and a competitive advantage.”

Left unsaid was a deeper reason for the divestiture. Months of deliberations behind closed doors at Shell headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands, had led the top brass at the world’s largest non-state-owned oil company by sales to conclude that the energy industry was changing fundamentally—in a way that could turn the profitable oil-sands operation into a liability. read more

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Big Oil Plans Tenfold Expansion of Cost-Cut Collaboration

Jan 24th, 2018

by John Donovan.

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The world’s largest energy companies plan to significantly widen a two-year effort to standardize the kit they use to pump oil and gas, hoping they can deliver significant cost savings, said people familiar with the matter.

The discussions, scheduled on Wednesday for a closed-door meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos, are the latest sign companies are seeking to tighten their belts permanently even as oil prices recover. Bespoke equipment designed on a project-by-project basis was common during the decade-long boom in crude prices, but looks less affordable after the industry’s worst downturn in a generation. read more

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Shell Takes a Last Exit From Mideast Oil — WSJ

Jan 16th, 2018

by John Donovan.

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By Sarah Kent and Benoit Faucon Published January 16, 2018: Dow Jones Newswires

LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell PLC is giving up on its last oil fields in Iraq, leaving the world’s second-biggest oil company with a dwindling footprint in the Middle East — a region it helped build into a petroleum powerhouse.

Shell said Monday it is selling for an undisclosed amount a stake in the West Qurna 1 oil field in Iraq to Japan’s Itochu Corp., the latest step in a gradual retreat from the region. The company is also expected to give up its holding in Iraq’s Majnoon oil field later this year, though it will retain its natural-gas interests in the country. read more

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U.S. oil industry set to break record, upend global trade

Jan 16th, 2018

by John Donovan.

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Liz Hampton: 16 JAN 2018

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Surging shale production is poised to push U.S. oil output to more than 10 million barrels per day – toppling a record set in 1970 and crossing a threshold few could have imagined even a decade ago.

And this new record, expected within days, likely won’t last long. The U.S. government forecasts that the nation’s production will climb to 11 million barrels a day by late 2019, a level that would rival Russia, the world’s top producer. read more

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Quest for new oil discoveries still on back burner

Jan 4th, 2018

by John Donovan.

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Ron Bousso: January 4, 2018

LONDON (Reuters) – Despite the strongest start for oil prices in four years, the world’s top oil companies are hesitating to accelerate the search for new resources as a determination to retain capital discipline trumps the hope of making bonanza discoveries.

Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Total and their peers are set to cut spending on oil and gas exploration for a fifth year in a row in 2018, according to consultancy Wood Mackenzie (WoodMac), despite a growing urgency to replenish reserves after years of reining back investment. read more

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What 2018 May Mean For The Oil & Gas Industry

Jan 2nd, 2018

by John Donovan.

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Claire Poole , CONTRIBUTOR: 29 Dec 2017 No doubt about it, it’s been a tough three years for the oil and gas industry, which has been wracked by lower oil prices, a raft of bankruptcies and a lack of investor confidence. Stocks of oil and gas explorers and producers, oil and gas equipment and services providers and oil and gas drillers were three of the eight worst performing sectors this year, according to a recent report from Fidelity Investments.

But analysts at RBC Capital Markets – which is known for its oil and gas coverage – think the energy cycle has hit its low and is now entering the second full year of recovery. They say the “oil macro” continues to firm, global inventories are dropping and oil prices have begun to respond to tightening supply-demand. “Excess capacity throughout the energy chain continues to be absorbed,” they say.

The firm thinks exploration and production money flow globally will continue to skew to North America, especially West Texas’ and New Mexico’s Permian Basin, although they say they are starting to see oil companies “dust off” their international and offshore projects as well. read more

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United States Awash in Oil

Jan 1st, 2018

by John Donovan.

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By Thomas Heath December 31 at 5:09 PM U.S. crude oil production is flirting with record highs heading into the new year, thanks to the technological nimbleness of shale oil drillers .

The current abundance has erased memories of 1973 gas lines, which raised pump prices dramatically, traumatizing the United States and reordering its economy. In the decades since, presidents and politicians have made pronouncements calling for U.S. energy independence.

President Jimmy Carter in a televised speech compared the energy crisis of 1977 to “the moral equivalent of war.”

“It’s a total turnaround from where we were in the ’70s,” said Frank Verrastro, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. read more

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The Year We Lost God But Gained OilCoin

Dec 29th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s CEO Ben Van Beurden was creating a stir of his own by talking about “lower-forever” oil prices.

Liam Denning: Dec 28, 2017

God didn’t die in 2017, but he did throw his hands up.

Andy Hall, the oil trader blessed with that nickname, caused a stir this summer by closing down his main hedge fund after long arguing for oil prices to rally and reportedly suffering big losses.

Hall didn’t declare oil was dead; indeed, he warned his withdrawal could be a contrarian signal (which turned out to be prescient).

Hall’s capitulation was a warning of a different kind. And while it may be mere coincidence, the appearance of something called OilCoin four months after God bowed out is a fitting coda. read more

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Ineos sees Forties oil flows back to normal around new year

Dec 29th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Reporting by Dmitry Zhdannikov and Julia Payne; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Mark Potter: December 28, 2017

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s biggest and most important oil and gas pipeline Forties should resume normal flows around the new year, slightly earlier than previously flagged, its operator Ineos said on Thursday.

Ineos had previously expected the pipeline, which suffered a rare unplanned shutdown because of a crack, to resume normal operations in early January.

The closure since Dec. 11 of the pipeline, which normally pumps about 450,000 barrels per day, and supply disruptions in Libya have helped push oil prices above $67 a barrel, their highest since mid-2015. [O/R] read more

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All That New Shale Oil May Not Be Enough as Big Discoveries Drop

Dec 27th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Three years after causing an oil-price crash, the shale boom may not be enough to meet rising global demand because the industry has cut back so sharply on higher-risk mega-projects.

Discoveries of new reserves this year were the fewest on record and replaced just 11 percent of what was produced, according to a Dec. 21 report by consultant Rystad Energy. While shale wells are creating a glut now, without more investment in bigger, conventional supply, the world may see output deficits as soon as 2019, according to Canadian producer Suncor Energy Inc. read more

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Oil workers sue Shell over Gulf of Mexico platform fire

Dec 18th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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REUTERS STAFF: 18 DECEMBER 2017

HOUSTON (Reuters) – Three offshore oil workers filed a lawsuit against units of Royal Dutch Shell and Enbridge, seeking $1 million in damages for injuries they allegedly received during a Nov. 8 fire on a U.S. Gulf of Mexico production platform.

The suit, filed in Galveston County court in Texas on Dec. 5, claims safety lapses on Shell’s Enchilada platform caused severe injuries to the three. The complaint seeks more than $1 million in damages from Shell International Exploration and Production, Shell Offshore, and Garden Banks Gas Pipeline Co, a unit of Enbridge, which owns a gas pipeline connected to the platform. read more

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Production Halted At 2 North Sea Platforms After Main Pipeline Shutdown

Dec 18th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Fun Trading: 18 Dec 2017

Summary

Shell announced that production from the Shearwater and Nelson platforms in the central North Sea had been suspended due to Forties pipeline shutdown.
Forties pipeline is a vital artery of the North Sea production. Production loss is estimated at about 400K Boep/d which is significant and may boost oil prices for weeks.
This situation could be considered as a net positive for Shell and other oil majors.

Investment Thesis:

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) (RDS.B), BP P.l.c (BP), and Exxon Mobil (XOM) are the most reliable long-term oil companies and should be part of your main oil portfolio. However, this special status comes with the shareholders’ obligation to follow tightly what is going on with the company on the day-to-day news which may eventually change the future outlook — in this case with a potential production cut. This is exactly what I intend to discuss today. read more

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Oil stable on tighter market, but rising US output looms for 2018

Dec 15th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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BY HENNING GLOYSTEIN: DECEMBER 15, 2017

* OPEC-led supply cuts, Forties pipeline outage support crude

* But rising U.S. output, driven by shale, weighs on market

SINGAPORE, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Oil markets were stable on Friday as the Forties pipeline outage in the North Sea and the ongoing OPEC-led production cuts supported prices, while rising output from the United States kept crude from rising further.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $57.13 a barrel at 0119 GMT, up 9 cents from their last settlement. read more

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Goldman Says Big Oil Is Poised for Its Best Year in Decades

Dec 14th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Big Oil’s slump is over and industry domination beckons, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

In 2018, companies from Royal Dutch Shell Plc to Exxon Mobil Corp. will find themselves with a surplus of cash to fund dividends, ruling the world of deep water mega-projects and even coming out ahead in tax negotiations with oil-reliant governments around the globe, according to Michele Della Vigna, Goldman’s head of energy-industry research.

The industry’s success in cutting costs, paired with a low oil price that keeps smaller competitors out of the biggest projects, has created an environment where only major players can compete, Vigna said. That should bolster earnings and return the industry giants to a position of dominance not seen in 20 years. read more

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Royal Dutch Shell’s Deepwater Strength

Nov 30th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Dividend Stream: Nov. 30, 2017

Summary

Royal Dutch Shell held its annual analyst day earlier this week.
Management expects to generate at least $25 billion in excess cash flow by 2019.
Despite rising share prices, Shell can still be picked up here.
This idea was discussed in more depth with members of my private investing community, Streaming Income.

The recovery in oil and gas is in full swing. While benchmark crude oil prices have gone up across the board, Brent is now $63 per barrel, the catalyst for this recovery comes more in the fact that oil producers have done such a good job in bringing costs down.

Nowhere is that more starkly noticeable than in offshore, deepwater drilling, where dayrates for state-of-the-art rigs have gone from as high as $700,000 three years ago to just $250,000 or so. As onshore rig counts creep higher, cost inflation is once again becoming a fact of life in select onshore shale plays. With deepwater drilling, however, there are still many rigs ‘stacked’ in harbors across the world just waiting to come out and get activated, thereby keeping development and operational costs down. read more

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Investors’ fortunes transformed as Shell restores cash dividend

Nov 29th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Shell said that years of cost-cutting had paid off

Emily Gosden, Energy Editor: November 29 2017

Royal Dutch Shell investors reaped the rewards of its “transformation” yesterday when it said that it would resume paying its entire $16 billion annual dividend in cash and would press ahead with at least $25 billion of share buybacks by 2020.

Europe’s biggest listed energy company has been saving cash over the past two and a half years by paying about a quarter of its dividend in the form of new shares, part of a strategy to help it to cope with the longest sustained downturn in oil prices for a generation. read more

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Shell, to Cut Carbon Output, Will Be Less of an Oil Company

Nov 28th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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By Clifford Krauss: Nov. 28, 2017

Bowing to pressure from shareholders and the Paris international climate accord, Royal Dutch Shell pledged on Tuesday to increase its investment in renewable fuels and to cut its carbon emissions in half by 2050.

Shell and other big oil companies have moved only sporadically over the last decade toward greater production of wind and solar energy. Now there are signs of a commitment to take climate change more seriously.

In comments to investors, Ben van Beurden, Shell’s chief executive, said that from 2018 to 2020, the company’s new-energies division would spend up to $2 billion a year on renewable energy sources like wind, solar and hydrogen power and on electric-car charging stations. read more

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Shell signals return to pure cash dividend, focus on renewables

Nov 28th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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FILE PHOTO: Ben van Beurden, chief executive officer of Royal Dutch Shell, speaks during a news conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, February 15, 2016. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes /File Photo

Ron Bousso: NOVEMBER 18, 2017

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) will return to paying pure cash dividends and step up its investment in cleaner energy as it turns a corner after more than two years of cost cuts and disposals prompted by weak oil prices.

Shell Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden sought to strike a balance between reassuring investors it can increase returns in its core fossil fuel business during an “era of volatility” in oil prices while preparing to step up investments in renewables. read more

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Shell and carmakers aim to go the distance with highway charging

Nov 27th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Ron Bousso: NOVEMBER 27, 2017

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) has partnered with top carmakers to deploy ultra-fast chargers on Europe’s highways, stealing a march on rivals in the race to remove one of the biggest obstacles facing the electric car sector.

Shell’s agreement with IONITY – a joint venture between BMW (BMWG.DE), Daimler (DAIGn.DE), Ford (F.N) and Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) – will initially bring high-powered docks to 80 highway sites in 2019, it said in a statement. read more

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Shell prepares to reward investors by restoring bigger cash payouts

Nov 26th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Royal Dutch Shell introduced its scrip dividend programme in 2015 (Source: Getty)

Oliver Gill: Sunday 26 November 2017 6:14pm

Oil behemoth Royal Dutch Shell has been tipped to dish out more cash to investors as it scraps a programme of paying dividends in the form of shares. Analysts from UBS believe it is a case of “when not if” Shell restores a full cash dividend.

Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden is expected to signal the changes at a London management day on Tuesday.

The oil giant put a scrip dividend programme – where part of the firm’s dividend is paid by issuing new shares – in place in 2015 to reduce demands on cash as debt spiralled. Shell’s cash reserves were put under pressure by a combination of soft oil prices and a £47bn deal to buy gas producer BG. read more

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Ben van Beurden prepares to restore Royal Dutch Shell cash dividend

Nov 26th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Simon Duke: NOVEMBER 26, 2017

Royal Dutch Shell is tipped to resume paying all its dividend in cash this week — unplugging a gusher worth billions of pounds for investors.

Chief executive Ben van Beurden is expected to signal the move on Tuesday, when he lays out his vision for Britain’s most valuable public company.

Abandoning the so-called scrip dividend programme would mark the latest stage in the Anglo-Dutch company’s recovery from the depths of the oil industry downturn. The company has paid a slice of its dividend in stock since early 2015, when the plunging oil price forced Van Beurden to marshal resources. read more

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Analysis: Oil giants unlikely to share coal’s fate, for now

Nov 17th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Ron Bousso, Simon Jessop, Susanna Twidale: NOVEMBER 17, 2017

LONDON (Reuters) – The Norwegian sovereign wealth fund’s proposal to ditch its oil and gas shares, though hugely symbolic in the battle against climate change, is unlikely to cause a rush to the exit by major investors in the sector in the short term.

The move by the $1 trillion fund, the world’s largest, rattled stock markets, exposing what is seen as one of the biggest threats to companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, Exxon Mobil and BP as the world shifts towards renewable energy such as wind and solar.

But in the meantime, expectations of growing global demand for oil and gas for decades to come mean reliance on these companies is likely to continue.

And although the Norwegian initiative will encourage those seeking to hasten the move to a low-carbon economy, the degree to which other investors can follow the fund’s example, at least in the short term, is less clear.

The European oil and gas index fell on Friday to its lowest since late September, extending declines following the Norwegian fund’s announcement. read more

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Norway Idea to Exit Oil Stocks Is ‘Shot Heard Around the World’

Nov 17th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Norway’s proposal to sell off $35 billion in oil and natural gas stocks brings sudden and unparalleled heft to a once-grassroots movement to enlist investors in the fight against climate change.

The Nordic nation’s $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund said Thursday that it’s considering unloading its shares of Exxon Mobil Corp., Royal Dutch Shell Plc and other oil giants to diversify its holdings and guard against drops in crude prices. European oil stocks fell.

Norges Bank Investment Management would not be the first institutional investor to back away from fossil fuels. But until now, most have been state pension funds, universities and other smaller players that have limited their divestments to coal, tar sands or some of the other dirtiest fossil fuels. Norway’s fund is the world’s largest equity investor, controlling about 1.5 percent of global stocks. If it follows through on its proposal, it would be the first to abandon the sector altogether. read more

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Big Oil is under pressure, unloved and on sale.

Nov 17th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Norway wants to dump its stakes in oil and gas companies
Proposal adds to doubts over industry’s long-term outlook

Big Oil is under pressure, unloved and on sale.

Energy giants from Exxon Mobil Corp. to Royal Dutch Shell Plc are struggling back to their feet after a three-year oil slump, while also fighting to prove they can survive for decades to come amid an accelerating shift to clean energy. So getting dumped by the world’s biggest investment fund wouldn’t be welcome news.

Norway’s $1 trillion sovereign wealth fund said on Thursday that it wants to sell about $35 billion of shares in oil and gas companies to make the nation “less vulnerable” to a drop in crude prices. Global energy giants favored by long-term investors including Italy’s Eni SpA, PetroChina Ltd. and Russia’s Gazprom PJSC account for more than $20 billion of that total. read more

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Shell’s LNG Strategy A Great Complement To Overall Operations

Nov 13th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Zoltan Ban: Nov 13, 2017

Summary

LNG is set to see robust growth on the back of growing global dependence on natural gas. The LNG industry will provide more supply security, which will be increasingly desired.
Shell has become a global leader in LNG, after the BG merger.
The advantage of investing in Shell as a way to play the LNG growth story is the fact that its downstream segment will act as a hedge in bad times.

Beyond the recent hype created by the Saudi events, there is a trend of steady and sustainable advance in the price of oil, which I believe is likely to continue for as long as the current global economic cycle that started with the 2009 economic recovery is going to persist. In fact, I believe that the trigger for the next economic downturn will be an oil price spike, perhaps very similar to what we saw in the 2007-2008 period. This is how I saw the situation play out back in late 2015, which is when I decided to buy Shell’s (RDS.A) (NYSE:RDS.B) stock, along with Chevron (CVX) and Suncor (SU). It is a long-term bet on a trend that I am certain will happen, although the timing of it was never something I was as certain of, which is why I opted to buy only solid names, with a diverse portfolio of projects. read more

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As Oil Prices Rise, Global Majors Eyeing Mexico’s Deep Waters

Nov 10th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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By Adam Williams: 9 November 2017, 21:27 GMT: Updated on 10 November 2017, 05:01 GMT

As the price of oil rises, an international rush is on for Mexico’s untapped deep-water riches.

The who’s who of the oil world — led by Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the world’s two biggest drillers by market value — are lining up to bid in the country’s Jan. 31 deep-water auction. And the interest is international in scope, drawing Chevron Corp. from the U.S., the U.K.’s BP Plc, Norway’s Statoil ASA, France’s Total SA, Australia’s BHP Billiton Ltd, Russia’s Lukoil PJSC and China’s Cnooc Ltd, among others. read more

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Oil Tumbles as Surprise Stockpile Surge Outweighs Platform Woes

Nov 9th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Shell shuts Enchilada platform in Gulf of Mexico Wednesday
U.S. drillers lift crude production to an all-time high: EIA

Crude went on a roller-coaster ride Wednesday as platform closures in the Gulf of Mexico led futures to spike, while the stubborn increase in U.S. supplies pulled prices back down.

Oil closed 0.7 percent lower in New York after alternating between gains and losses in the session. Multiple platforms in the Gulf of Mexico suspended operations after Royal Dutch Shell Plc shut its Enchilada-Salsa platform due to a fire. While the shutdowns caused shortages, the prevailing mood was set by a government report showing crude stockpiles unexpectedly rose last week, overseas demand shrank and U.S. output hit a record-high. read more

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Shell Gears Up For Peak Gasoline

Nov 7th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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By Jon LeSage – Nov 07, 2017, 3:00 PM CST

Royal Dutch Shell is hedging its bets over the next two decades with expectations that motor fuel consumption will be diminishing and other markets rising.

Since the oil price plummet it 2014, Shell has transitioned its business model over to refining oil, offering other refined oil products, and producing petrochemicals. The oil giant will produce well beyond gasoline to serve other growing economic sectors, and to offset the role EVs will play by the 2030s. read more

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Oil prices head towards $70 in the wake of Saudi purge

Nov 7th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Jillian Ambrose: 6 NOVEMBER 2017 • 6:28PM

Global oil prices broke above two year highs and could climb higher to hit $70 a barrel in the wake of a shock anti-corruption purge of Saudi royals and senior officials.

Oil prices bounded to highs not seen since July 2015 at over $64 a barrel on Monday following a sweep of arrests targeting ministers, investors and members of the Saudi royal family on corruption charges over the weekend.

The shock crackdown also helped drive shares in Royal Dutch Shell to within a breath of its highest ever share price at £24.89 following the company’s rosy financial results last week. Before the oil price crash in late 2014 the company’s shares traded at a peak of £25.76. read more

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BP joins Shell in helping Mexico execute oil hedge: sources

Nov 7th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Dmitry Zhdannikov: NOVEMBER 7, 2017 LONDON (Reuters) – BP (BP.L) helped Mexico execute its 2018 oil hedge, the biggest in the industry, becoming the second major after Shell to participate in the highly coveted program and challenging the traditional role of banks in the operation.

Three industry sources said BP has become a participant of the 2018 program on which Mexico spent some $1.26 billion to hedge its 2018 oil exports against oil price falls as part of government’s efforts to stabilize its budget.

BP declined to comment.

BP joins rival Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L), which made a first foray last year to become the first major to challenge years of dominance of big Wall Street banks in the program.

Shell declined to comment.

Banks such as Goldman Sachs (GS.N), Citi (C.N) and JPMorgan (JPM.N) have dominated Mexico’s program for years but their role has diminished with tighter regulations on bank commodity trading, including a near total ban on proprietary trading. read more

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Royal Dutch Shell: The Cash Machine

Nov 6th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Sarfaraz A. Khan: Nov. 6, 2017 12:35 PM ET

Summary

Royal Dutch Shell has reported nearly 50% increase in profits following improvement in energy prices which fueled a turnaround of its upstream division.
In the first three quarters of 2017, Royal Dutch Shell generated $15.42 billion of free cash flows (ex. working cap. changes), surpassing even the industry’s cash flow king Exxon Mobil.
Oil prices have climbed to almost $61 a barrel and could stay at this level in the future, which could give a major boost to Shell’s earnings and cash flows.

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A, RDS.B) is a well-oiled cash flow machine. In fact, it generates more free cash flows than any other oil majors, and this was evident from the latest quarterly results. The Anglo-Dutch oil giant could get even better in 2018 on the back of improvement in oil prices. The company’s shares will likely move higher while its valuation might also improve.

Latest Earnings

Royal Dutch Shell has recently released blowout quarterly results in which it posted significantly higher profits following a strong performance from its upstream, downstream and integrated gas divisions. The company reported an adjusted net profit (attributable to shareholders on a current cost of supplies (CCS) basis) of $4.1 billion, up 47% from the same quarter last year. That blew past the company-provided analysts’ estimate of $3.6 billion. The profits at the upstream segment ballooned from just $4 million a year earlier to $562 million. The profits at the downstream and integrated gas segments rose 28.4% and 37.7% to $2.67 billion and $1.28 billion respectively. read more

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Shell looks beyond road fuels to secure future of refining

Nov 6th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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REUTERS STAFF: NOVEMBER 6, 2017 / 7:00 AM

* Asphalt, plastics, chemicals to sustain demand, Shell says

* Shell to double chemicals business by mid-2020s

* Downstream highly independent from oil prices – Shell’s Abbott

By Ron Bousso and Dmitry Zhdannikov

LONDON, Nov 6 (Reuters) – While the world braces for the electric-vehicle revolution, Royal Dutch Shell is betting on growing appetite for asphalt and plastics to sustain its century-old oil refining business for the coming decades. read more

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Oil rebound drives Shell to booming profits

Nov 2nd, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Jillian Ambrose: 2 NOVEMBER 2017 • 7:58AM

Royal Dutch Shell became the latest major oil company to deliver better than expected earnings in recent months as the market recovery begins to gain traction.

The Anglo-Dutch oil giant reported $4.1bn (£3bn) in earnings for the last quarter on a current cost of supply basis, its standard measure of profitability. The sum comes in well above analyst forecasts that the group would make $3.6bn for the latest quarter.

Shell’s quarterly earnings are almost 50pc higher than in the same quarter last year, when they reached $2.8bn. read more

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Shell beats profit forecasts, targets lower 2017 spending

Nov 2nd, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Ron Bousso

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) reported an 18 percent rise in third-quarter profit on Tuesday, lowering next year’s capital spending to the bottom of the expected range as it grapples with persistently low oil prices and weak refining margins.

The Anglo-Dutch oil major, whose acquisition of BG Group transformed it into the world’s top liquefied natural gas producer, has been under pressure from shareholders to cut annual spending to ensure it can maintain its dividend given the slow recovery in the oil prices LCOc1. read more

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Threat to pensions if BP and Shell find themselves extinct

Oct 29th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Stop crude focus on oil profits

The Guardian: Article by Sean Farrell: Sunday 29 October 2017

At the start of last year, Britain’s big oil companies, Shell and BP, appeared to be in crisis. A slump in the price of Brent crude – from more than $110 a barrel in 2014 to less than $30 in January 2016 – sent profits tumbling and appeared to threaten dividends. After painful cost cuts and a partial recovery in the oil price to near $60, the pressure has eased and both are expected to report solid first-half results this week.

BP goes first, on Tuesday, with Shell, the stronger of the two, on Thursday. The commotion over the oil slump diverted some attention from their commitments to low-carbon energy. To much fanfare, both companies’ boards supported resolutions at their 2015 annual meetings that required clearer reporting of emissions, business risks and efforts to develop green energy sources. read more

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Profits Jump at Exxon, Chevron, Total

Oct 27th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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World’s biggest Western energy companies are on track to post highest annual profits since oil market crashed three years ago

By Bradley Olson and Sarah Kent

Updated Oct. 27, 2017 10:33 a.m. ET

Big oil is back in the black.

The world’s biggest Western energy companies are on track to post the highest annual profits since the oil market crashed three years ago and forced them to restructure for a prolonged era of low prices. FULL ARTICLE

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Amid Low Prices, Oil Giants Gush About Breaking Even

Oct 26th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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By Sarah Kent Published October 26, 2017: Dow Jones Newswires

The world’s biggest oil companies have a suddenly popular measure for success: breaking even.

Once obscure and little noted, the break-even number has become an obsession for investors in oil giants such as Exxon Mobil Corp., BP PLC and Chevron Corp. as crude prices stay mired between $50 and $60 a barrel. At its simplest, the metric represents the oil price that a company needs to generate enough cash so it can cover its capital spending and dividend payouts. read more

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Shell says can pump oil from Brazil’s pre-salt fields below $40/bbl

Oct 25th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Wael Sawan, Executive Vice President for Shell’s deepwater division, poses for a picture before an interview for Reuters during an oil conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil October 24, 2017. Picture take October 24, 2017. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly

Simon Webb, Alexandra Alper: OCTOBER 25, 2017

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell will participate in Brazil’s deepwater oilfield auction on Friday and is confident it can pump oil from the fields on offer for less than $40 a barrel, a top Shell executive said.

Brazil will hold its first auction in four years for its pre-salt oilfields on Friday. The eight deepwater blocks on offer hold billions of barrels in reserves, and for the first time, Brazil will allow foreign oil firms to operate the fields in the region. read more

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Why Shell Investors Shouldn’t Ignore The Ongoing Security Situation In Nigeria

Oct 4th, 2017

by John Donovan.

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Callum Turcan: Oct. 4, 2017 5:28 AM ET

Summary

Attacks on oil & gas infrastructure in Nigeria pose a serious risk to Royal Dutch Shell.
Looking at Shell’s footprint in the country.
How it has been impacted so far.

Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A) (NYSE:RDS.B) is a big player in Nigeria, a country that has been dealing with increases in civil unrest and sporadic violence over the past few years, particularly from the Niger Delta Avengers group that wants a larger portion of the oil & gas tax revenue to go to the Niger Delta region. This is on top of Nigeria’s ongoing fight against the Boko Haram insurgency in the northern parts of the country. The ongoing security situation is a major risk for Shell’s Nigerian operations, especially as the Niger Delta Avengers have shown the ability to repeatedly target bottlenecks like pipelines and force a lot of output offline. Let’s dig in by first going over what’s at stake for Shell. read more

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Shell takes cautious approach to green energy transition

Oct 1st, 2017

by John Donovan.

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by Andrew Ward, Energy Editor: 1 Oct 2017

Mr van Beurden, chief executive of Shell, allows himself only the briefest self-congratulation. “All the milestones, we are either ahead or on track,” he tells the Financial Times, referring to targets set at the time of the takeover. “But you are never done in this industry because everything is always in continuous decline.” The Dutchman is talking about the relentless pressure to find new resources… FULL ARTICLE

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Lower for longer oil prices vs higher, sooner

Oct 1st, 2017

by John Donovan.

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by Ed Crooks: Sunday 1 Oct 2017

To clarify Ben van Beurden’s point, he was not forecasting that oil would be “lower forever”; he meant that Shell should be operating with the mindset that it might be. If you are a risk-averse oil producer, that makes sense. Oil consumers should probably likewise be thinking about the possibility that prices could be higher, sooner.

FULL FT ARTICLE