Shell Share Discussion Threads

[happyholder123] 07/9/2017 20:57

HNR
Two wells successfully drilled with abundant oil and gas samples extracted!
Fracking and FIRST OIL next month!
Don't miss this train!

[waldron] 06/9/2017 20:37

divi Payment date September 18, 2017

[waldron] 04/9/2017 10:19

broker ratings
Royal Dutch Shell Plc 16.1% Potential Upside Indicated by Deutsche Bank

Posted by: Amilia Stone 4th September 2017

Royal Dutch Shell Plc with EPIC/TICKER (LON:RDSA) had its stock rating noted as ‘Reiterates217; with the recommendation being set at ‘BUY’ today by analysts at Deutsche Bank. Royal Dutch Shell Plc are listed in the Oil & Gas sector within UK Main Market. Deutsche Bank have set their target price at 2450 GBX on its stock. This indicates the analyst now believes there is a potential upside of 16.1% from the opening price of 2110 GBX. Over the last 30 and 90 trading days the company share price has decreased 87.5 points and increased 17.5 points respectively. The 1 year high for the stock price is 2295.5 GBX while the 52 week low for the stock is 1791 GBX.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc has a 50 day moving average of 2,118.65 GBX and the 200 Day Moving Average price is recorded at 2,137.64. There are currently 9,579,048,068 shares in issue with the average daily volume traded being 4,950,254. Market capitalisation for LON:RDSA is £203,794,247,647 GBP.

[grupo guitarlumber] 31/8/2017 18:25

SP HOLDING UP WELL

[la forge] 30/8/2017 09:13

Shell Initiates Production From Gbaran-Ubie Phase 2 Project
August 29, 2017, 09:15:00 AM EDT By Zacks Equity Research, Zacks.com

Shutterstock photo

European oil giant Royal Dutch Shell plc 's RDS.A subsidiary The Shell Petroleum Development Company recently commenced production from the second phase of its key gas project, Gbaran-Ubie in Nigeria's Niger Delta region. The Phase 2 project is an expansion of the Phase 1 Gbaran-Ubie project which was commissioned in June 2010.

Between Kolo Creek and Soku, which connects the Gbaran-Ubie central processing facility to the Soku non-associated gas plant, till date 18 wells have been drilled and a new pipeline constructed.The facilities came online in July. The peak production capacity of the project is estimated to be 175,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2019.

The project is a joint venture between the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Total E&P Nigeria Ltd., subsidiary of TOTAL S.A. TOT , Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited, subsidiary of Eni S.p.A. E , and Shell Petroleum Development. Shell Petroleum Development is the chef operator of the project with 30% stake. Nigerian National Petroleum, Total E&P Nigeria and Nigerian Agip Oil hold 55%, 10% and 5% interests in the project, respectively.

Shell, which boasts a strong and diversified portfolio of global energy businesses, started its operations in Nigeria in 1958. Plummeting oil prices along with rising militantism has lowered the production and revenues of the country and posed risk to Shell's operations in the region. However, the ongoing government peace talks have eased the situation to certain extent.

The development projects in Nigeria are expected to help volume growth and offer growth opportunities to Shell in the long run. The project is likely to boost oil output and enhance exports.

Nigeria currently produces1.7 million barrels of oil per day (Bpd) which is expected to rise to 2.2 million Bpd by 2018 and 4 million Bpd by 2020. In a bid to bolster its reserves, production and daily revenues, Nigeria is currently focusing on inking deals with foreign companies to develop oil fields. In August, Nigerian National Petroleum signed two development project deals with oil majors Chevron Corporation CVX and Shell. The projects are expected to generate revenues of around $16 billion within the assets' lifecycle. The increase in exploration activities will not only boost employment opportunities and gas supply but will also uplift the industrial capacity utilization of Nigeria.

While the deal with Shell will accelerate the upstream production of various oil fields in Niger Delta region, the deal with Chevron is expected to add 211 million barrels of oil and 1.9 trillion Cubic feet of gas to Nigerian reserves with a potential output of 30,000 b/d of oil equivalent. In late June, Nigerian National Petroleum inked a $700 million tripartite deal with First E&P and Schlumberger Limited to develop two shallow water fields which is likely to add 50,000 barrels of crude per day to Nigeria's output.

Zacks Rank

Headquartered in Netherlands, Shell is one of the largest integrated energy companies and is engaged in production, refining, distribution and marketing of oil and natural gas. The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3(Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.

Shell's stock has gained around 2.5% year to date, substantially outperforming the 6% decline of the industry

[grupo guitarlumber] 26/8/2017 13:54

Pounds sterling and euro equivalents announcement date September 4, 2017
Payment date September 18, 2017

[grupo guitarlumber] 26/8/2017 13:34

Shell Joins Solar Push in Coal Country of World’s Top Exporter
By Ben Sharples
and Perry Williams
25 août 2017 à 08:01 UTC+2
From

Co. studying feasibility of project in Australia’s Queensland
Equis has approved A$1.5 billion solar farm in same region

Photographer: Ian Waldie/Bloomberg

Royal Dutch Shell Plc is investigating a solar power project in an Australian region better known for its fossil fuels, particularly coal.

The company is studying the feasibility of a solar development on its land in the Western Downs area of Queensland, which is subject to a final investment decision, a spokeswoman said by email. Though Shell’s statement didn’t elaborate on timing or size, the regional council this week said it had approved construction of the 250-megawatt Delga Solar Farm project proposed by Shell at Woleebee, near Wandoan.

Shell plans to spend as much as $1 billion a year on its New Energies division as the transition to renewable power accelerates, and will partner with Sunseap Group Pte to invest in solar throughout the Asia Pacific. Equis Energy earlier this month approved a 1,000-megawatt solar plant near Wandoan, a region long associated with a potential large coal mine development by Glencore Plc.

“Investment in Australia’s large-scale solar sector has had a record-breaking 12 months with around 1,678 megawatts worth of new projects currently under construction across the country,” said Leonard Quong, an associate with Bloomberg New Energy Finance in Sydney. Falling technology costs and surging electricity prices are helping to drive a boom in the sector, Quong said.

See also: Australia’s Largest Generator Urges No Coal in Clean Target

Equis’ A$1.5 billion ($1.2 billion) Wandoan South Solar Project will be one of the largest in the country and is scheduled to start delivering power in 2019, the Singapore-based company said Aug. 7. Australia is the world’s biggest exporter of thermal and metallurgical coal.

There are 38 solar plants operating in Australia with a capacity to generate 411 megawatts of power, and a further 29 under construction, according to BNEF.

Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal.

[ariane] 15/8/2017 10:26

Home » Reports » Broker Ratings » Royal Dutch Shell Plc 29% Potential Upside Indicated by Barclays Capital
broker ratings
Royal Dutch Shell Plc 29% Potential Upside Indicated by Barclays Capital

Posted by: Amilia Stone 15th August 2017

Royal Dutch Shell Plc using EPIC/TICKER code (LON:RDSA) had its stock rating noted as ‘Reiterates217; with the recommendation being set at ‘OVERWEIGHT217; today by analysts at Barclays Capital. Royal Dutch Shell Plc are listed in the Oil & Gas sector within UK Main Market. Barclays Capital have set their target price at 2750 GBX on its stock. This would imply the analyst believes there is now a potential upside of 29.0% from today’s opening price of 2132 GBX. Over the last 30 and 90 trading days the company share price has increased 74.5 points and decreased 25 points respectively. The 1 year high for the share price is 2295.5 GBX while the 52 week low is 1791 GBX.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc has a 50 day moving average of 2,112.34 GBX and a 200 day moving average of 2,130.31. There are currently 9,520,721,311 shares in issue with the average daily volume traded being 4,990,356. Market capitalisation for LON:RDSA is £203,029,381,957 GBP.

[maywillow] 11/8/2017 15:37

Royal Dutch Shell: If I Could Buy Just One Energy Stock
Aug. 11, 2017 9:55 AM ET|
14 comments|
About: Royal Dutch Shell plc (RDS.A), RDS.B
Ray Merola
Ray Merola
Value, dividend investing, growth at reasonable price, contrarian
(6,696 followers)
Summary

In 2017, most energy stocks have under performed.

Amidst the castaways, there's a Super Major gem hiding in plain sight.

It's a turnaround story wrapped in a 6.7% dividend yield.

Of all the companies I follow, one 2Q 2017 earnings release stood out. The company blew out Street estimates. Management continued to fulfill promises to investors. Remarkably, the stock resides in 2017's most downtrodden neighborhood: Energy.

The company is Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) (RDS.B).

For those that follow my work here on Seeking Alpha, I've been constructive on RDS shares for a long time. I've advocated CEO Ben van Beurden is the real deal. He's a no-nonsense Dutchman with an eye for business simplification and efficiency; precisely what Shell needed. In 2014, Mr. van Beurden was elevated to the CEO role after an outstanding run at Shell Chemical.

Over three-a-half years into his new role, he's not disappointed.

Looking back to 1Q 2016, Shell had just completed its BG Group acquisition. Ben van Beurden touted it. He owned the deal. The transaction was roundly criticized by many. Detractors declared, "The timing is terrible," "Shell paid far too much," and of course,

"The dividend is unsustainable. It must be cut!"

Some 6 quarters later, RDS stock is up 28%. The cash dividend remains at $0.94 per ADR. In mid-2015, management made a highly unusual move for a global corporation in the midst of a commodity collapse: CEO van Beurden and CFO Simon Henry promised the payout would be maintained through at least the end of 2016, despite the industry struggling with an energy commodity collapse.

Indeed, it was not reduced, and has been maintained for an additional two quarters. In August 2017, none withstanding the robust capital appreciation, Shell shares still yield about 6.7%.

Meanwhile, Royal Dutch Shell began the process of concurrently re-imagining itself and absorbing the BG Group; a company about one-quarter the size of the old Shell itself.

Let's briefly walk through where we've been, and look forward to where I believe we're heading.
From the Depths

By mid-2015, oil prices began to roll over, hitting rock bottom in 1Q 2016. In January and February 2016, Brent and WTI fell to the mid $20s. Shell closed on the BG deal around the same time.

The company borrowed big to fund the $53 billion cash-and-stock acquisition. The rock-solid balance sheet took a hit. Gearing (i.e., debt-to-capital) nearly doubled to 26% from just 14% at the end of 2015.

Shortly after the transaction closed, van Beurden made some promises:

First, he said operating costs and capital expenditures were coming down; and fast.

source for this section's slides: Shell 1Q 2016 earnings release

Second, he pointed out BG production was going up.

In late 2015, I once again advocated a position for the shares.

January 2016 marked investors' point of maximum pain. RDS.A shares traded for under $40 each, and offered nearly a 10% dividend yield. Fortitude was required for those scaling in on the long trip down.

The underlying business hit bedrock in 1Q 2016. Shell generated only $661 million operating cash flow, or an annualized $2.6 billion. It was a pale comparison versus over $40 billion a year OCF reported in the YE 2012-2014. In 2016, cash dividends were costing the company ~$2.5 billion per quarter.
Fast-Forward to 2017

Since the close of the BG acquisition, Royal Dutch Shell has COMPLETELY absorbed the operation's capex and opex, while reducing its own legacy costs dramatically.

Spending

Capital spending has been reduced to $25 billion from over $40 billion a year.

source for this section's slides: Shell 2Q 2017 earnings release

The go-forward capex run-rate is $25 billion to $30 billion a year. The reduction is not simply a "cut." Shell now utilizes far more commercial discipline. The company can stretch a buck farther than years' past.

Opex is down 20% since 2014.

For years, Shell management emphasized span. Cost containment was not a prime mover. No more. Under Ben van Beurden operating costs are down, and these are staying down. It's a template he used successfully when heading up Shell Chemical. The energy business is notoriously cyclical; within the energy business, chemicals are cyclical on steroids.

Divestiture Program

An announced $30 billion divestiture program remains on track. About $26 billion has been closed, is pending closure, or in advanced discussions. Between 2016 and 2018, management promised $30 billion in cash from divestitures. Proceeds are earmarked to reduce debt. Concerns about Shell being forced to settle for "fire sale" prices, or an inability to close deals fast enough failed to materialize.

As outlined initially by Van Beurden, the 3-year divestment strategy is about simplification, not mortgaging the future or shrinking to pay the dividend.

Concurrent Production Increases

At the end of 2015 (prior to BG), Shell produced 2.95 million BoE/d. Given more than half the divestitures complete, 2Q 2017 total production climbed to 3.62 million BoE/d. In other words, while operating expenses declined by 20%, energy production increased 23%.

In addition, long-lead, major capital projects are coming online. These projects are scheduled to deliver $5 billion incremental cash flow this year. By 2018, Shell management expects $10 billion incremental cash flow from these projects.

Capital Returns and Debt Reduction Are In Focus

CEO Van Beurden anticipates near-term Return-on-Average-Capital-Employed (RoACE) to reach 10%; far eclipsing the ~7% returns the company's experienced during the 2012 to 2014 boom cycle. The mark is now 4%; up from negative returns in 2016. As the major capital projects come online, "dead" capital comes to life and RoACE will rise.

Net debt and gearing are on the way down. Gearing is 25.3% now, on its ways towards a 20% target.

Cash Flow and the Dividend

Most importantly to income investors, the trailing 4 quarters' operating cash flow covered the dividend easily. Over these quarters, Shell generated $38.45 billion operating cash flow. Capital expenditures were $22.10 billion. Dividend payments totaled $10.58 billion.

The arithmetic and the chart is compelling.

Indeed, Shell is NOT borrowing to pay the dividend. Notably, the ongoing script program continues to dilute current stockholders; however, the past year has seen the total number of shares outstanding rise by only 2.3%. On the 2Q 2017 conference call, management is well-aware of the script program's dilutive effect, and desires to end it as quickly as possible. Nonetheless, corporate financial priorities remain unchanged:

Reduce debt
Fund the dividend
Reinvest for growth initiatives

Shell CFO Jessica Uhl reinforced management's view of the script program during the 2Q 2017 conference call:

And I do want it to be very clear, our commitment to taking the scrip off as soon as it's appropriate to do so. So, the - if I've used different language, I would not want that to leave any other impression than that one. It is about getting our gearing down to 20%, getting our debt to the right levels and taking the scrip off as soon as possible. We're absolutely committed to doing that.

Again, we're focusing on the fundamentals of the company and driving our cash flow to a different level, driving our profitability to a different level. This will make us a healthier company, a resilient company that ultimately can pay our dividends by cash year in year out and that's really what we're driving our company to be and again to get the scrip off as soon as we possibly can.

All This While Prices Realized Plummeted

In order to appreciate the magnitude of these achievements, here's a table summary of Shell's 2012 to 2017 prices realized:

Crude oil prices have been slashed in half. Gas is down my more than 40 percent. Shell managed to completely integrate and absorb another major corporation, grind down costs, increase total production, and generate nearly as much cash flow as it did in 2013.

I find the picture pretty clear, don't you?
Looking Forward

Under CEO Ben van Beurden and his staff, Royal Dutch Shell is positioned to manage itself in a sub-$50/bbl oil world. Shell does not need $60 or $70 oil to sustain positive net cash flow.

Tight controls on opex and capex are not about to slip under the current regime. Heading into 2018, a bevy of high-profile, cash-rich projects are poised to generate incremental cash flow. Shell is running for cash, capital returns, and intent upon making a long-term, sustainable investment case for its stockholders.

I maintain the dividend is secure. I've stated this position previously; and continue to do so. Shell has not cut its dividend since 1945. It is highly unlikely to happen now: not on Ben van Beurden's watch.

I contend RDS shares are arguably the best deal in the oil patch: a sound and improving balance sheet, an indisputably outstanding franchise, the company is very well-managed, generates enormous cash flow, and is exceedingly shareholder-friendly.

Additional disclosure: very long RDS.A

[maywillow] 07/8/2017 11:13

broker ratings
Royal Dutch Shell Plc 25.8% Potential Upside Indicated by Barclays Capital

Posted by: Amilia Stone 7th August 2017

Royal Dutch Shell Plc with EPIC/TICKER (LON:RDSA) had its stock rating noted as ‘Reiterates217; with the recommendation being set at ‘OVERWEIGHT217; this morning by analysts at Barclays Capital. Royal Dutch Shell Plc are listed in the Oil & Gas sector within UK Main Market. Barclays Capital have set their target price at 2750 GBX on its stock. This now indicates the analyst believes there is a possible upside of 25.8% from the opening price of 2186 GBX. Over the last 30 and 90 trading days the company share price has increased 145 points and increased 87.5 points respectively. The 1 year high for the stock price is 2295.5 GBX while the 52 week low is 1791 GBX.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc has a 50 day moving average of 2,103.60 GBX and the 200 Day Moving Average price is recorded at 2,127.06. There are currently 9,311,378,836 shares in issue with the average daily volume traded being 5,076,924. Market capitalisation for LON:RDSA is £204,710,663,709 GBP.

[ariane] 04/8/2017 21:14

4/08/2017 | 8:40 p.m.

BERLIN (AWP / AFP) - The head of the German diplomacy, Sigmar Gabriel, said on Friday that the sanctions adopted Wednesday by Washington against Russia aim in part to counteract the supply of Russian gas to Europeans.

"Mixing so frontally foreign policy and economic interests and saying" we want to get Russian gas out of the European market "is certainly something we can not accept," Gabriel told a meeting with his Slovak counterpart at Wolfsburg (north).

These sanctions, voted by an overwhelming majority in the US Congress and promulgated reluctantly by President Donald Trump on Wednesday, have been denounced by Moscow but are also criticized by Brussels because they can affect European companies and in the long term its gas supplies Russian.

At the center of these concerns is the Nord Stream 2 project for the construction of a gas pipeline between Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea, developed by the Russian giant Gazprom and five European groups: the French Engie, the Germans Uniper (ex- EON) and Wintershall (BASF), the Austrian OMV and the Anglo-Dutch Shell.

The provisions adopted on Thursday would give President Trump the possibility of sanctioning companies working on pipelines coming from Russia, for example limiting their access to US banks or excluding them from public procurement in the United States.

dar / az

[grupo guitarlumber] 02/8/2017 16:53

EIA Reports Crude Oil Inventories Fell 1.5 Million Barrels, WTI Oil Price Retreats
By
Tim Clayton -
August 2, 2017 - 14:44 UTC
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The latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) data recorded an inventory draw of 1.53 million barrels for the week ending July 28th following a draw of 7.2 million barrels the previous week.

Consensus forecasts were for a decline of 2.8 million barrels, although another unexpected build in the API data triggered a fresh round of uncertainty ahead of the EIA release.

Crude inventories declined to 481.9 million barrels and were down 2.0% on the year, although still in the upper half of seasonal inventory levels. Refinery use rose 1.1% on the week following a 0.3% increase the previous week which will help underpin expectations of firm demand for crude.

Cushing inventories recorded a marginal draw on the week.

Domestic crude production recorded a gain of 0.2% on the week at 9.41mn bpd following last week’s decline and there was an increase of 11.5% over the year.

Gasoline inventories recorded a draw of 2.5 million barrels on the week with a 4.4% annual decline while distillate recorded a draw of 0.2 million barrels with a year-on-year decline of 2.4%.

The fuel data should help underpin underlying confidence, especially given the decline in stocks from year-ago levels, although much of the improvement is likely to have been priced in.

The API data had recorded a build of 1.78mn for the latest week, although this followed a much larger than expected draw of 10.2 million barrels for the previous week.

There was choppy trading in oil prices following the data with net losses to the $48.70 p/b area from $49.05 with disappointment over the headline figure and increase in production.

[sarkasm] 29/7/2017 12:28

broker ratings
Royal Dutch Shell Plc 23.7% Potential Upside Indicated by Jefferies International

Posted by: Amilia Stone 28th July 2017

Royal Dutch Shell Plc with EPIC/TICKER (LON:RDSA) had its stock rating noted as ‘Reiterates217; with the recommendation being set at ‘BUY’ this morning by analysts at Jefferies International. Royal Dutch Shell Plc are listed in the Oil & Gas sector within UK Main Market. Jefferies International have set a target price of 2600 GBX on its stock. This would imply the analyst believes there is now a potential upside of 23.7% from the opening price of 2102.5 GBX. Over the last 30 and 90 trading days the company share price has increased 28.5 points and increased 84.5 points respectively. The 1 year high share price is 2295.5 GBX while the 52 week low for the stock is 1791 GBX.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc has a 50 day moving average of 2,100.39 GBX and the 200 Day Moving Average price is recorded at 2,124.67. There are currently 9,693,247,496 shares in issue with the average daily volume traded being 5,780,330. Market capitalisation for LON:RDSA is £204,333,657,216 GBP.

[grupo guitarlumber] 28/7/2017 10:35

Net Asset Value per Share (exc. Intangibles) 2016 1610.57p


WHAT NTAV FOR 2017

and therefore what would be a reasonable share price target

[grupo guitarlumber] 27/7/2017 16:52

Shell Prepares for 'Lower Forever' Oil Prices -- 2nd Update
27/07/2017 1:17pm
Dow Jones News

Shell A (LSE:RDSA)
Intraday Stock Chart

Today : Thursday 27 July 2017
Click Here for more Shell A Charts.

By Sarah Kent

LONDON-- Royal Dutch Shell PLC laid out a pessimistic vision for the future of oil on Thursday, even as the company reported success in generating cash during a prolonged downturn.

Shell has cut costs and said it is preparing for a world in which crude prices never return to precrash levels and petroleum demand eventually declines. Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said the company has a mind-set that oil prices would remain "lower forever"--a riff on the "lower for longer" mantra the industry adopted for a price slump that proved unexpectedly lasting.

"We have to have projects that are resilient in a world where oil has peaked," Mr. van Beurden told reporters on a conference call discussing the company's second-quarter financial results. "When it will happen we don't know, but that it will happen we are certain."

The views of the British-Dutch oil company reflect the transition under way in a global energy industry grappling with the twin forces of an oil-supply glut and a looming consumer shift away from petroleum. These trends are even more pronounced for oil companies in Europe, where local and national governments are trying to phase out vehicles with combustion engines, encourage electric automobiles and reduce overall carbon emissions.

Experts differ on the timing of peak oil demand. In its most conservative scenario, Shell sees oil peaking within the coming decade.The International Energy Agency says the timing will be more like 2040. The advent of declining demand--after decades of untiring growth--would likely cause a slide in the value of oil and the companies that produce it.

On the other hand, U.S. energy giants such as Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. have said peak oil demand is still far off. And even when oil consumption eventually stops growing, Shell isn't expecting it to drop off a cliff.

"It doesn't mean it's game over straight away," Mr. van Beurden said. "There will be a continued need for investment in oil projects."

Mr. van Beurden's comments are broadly in line with Shell's overall strategy of moving toward producing fuel for electricity, such as natural gas and even renewables, and focusing on keeping costs low. The company now produces more gas than oil, is building a massive wind farm off the Dutch coast and has plans to spend up to $1 billion a year on building its presence in new energy sources such as renewables by the end of the decade.

Despite Shell's conservative view on oil, the company presented what analysts said was a strong set of financial results for the second quarter.

Shell's equivalent of net profit rose to $1.9 billion from $239 million a year earlier and its cash flow from operations soared to $11.3 billion. The company said it generated $38 billion of cash from its business over 12 months, enough to cover dividend payments and bring down debt.

Shell's earnings were reported on the same day as French oil giant Total SA and Norway's Statoil ASA, all of them striking a confident if cautious note. They trumpeted falling debt levels and strong cash flow--a metric that has become increasingly important to investors who have been worried about oil companies' ability to cover their spending and dividends without taking on debt.

Total's profit for the quarter was $2 billion, roughly the same as last year, and the company reported a significant increase in cash flow from operations to $4.6 billion.

Statoil said it earned $1.4 billion in the second quarter, compared with a loss of $302 million last year. The company said it generated $4 billion in free cash flow.

Exxon and Chevron report earnings on Friday.

Cash flow has become an important way to gauge the health of big oil companies during the price downturn because it demonstrates their ability to make dividend payments to investors without taking on new debt.

Hefty, regular dividends are a significant reason that big investors put money in oil companies, which have historically struggled to offer hope of significant share-price growth because of their size. Investors are particularly wary in an era of low oil prices.

At the depths of the oil-price crash, big oil companies took on tens of billions of dollars in debt to help cover dividend payments. Several offer payouts as company shares, known as scrip--a practice that has kept investors happy in the short-term but was widely seen as unsustainable.

In the first quarter of last year when oil hit its nadir of $27 a barrel, Shell's cash flow fell to just $700 million. Oil's fragile recovery since then to around $50 a barrel has helped the sector, but Shell and its peers have also engaged in aggressive efforts to bring down costs so they can survive at lower prices. Shell said that removing its scrip dividend remains a priority that it is working toward.

"We are getting fit for the 40s," Mr. van Beurden said, referring to a world in which oil prices are below $50 a barrel.

Write to Sarah Kent at [e-mail]



(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 27, 2017 08:02 ET (12:02 GMT)

[grupo guitarlumber] 25/7/2017 07:00

Royal Dutch Shell Plc using EPIC/TICKER code (LON:RDSA) had its stock rating noted as ‘Reiterates217; with the recommendation being set at ‘NEUTRAL’; today by analysts at Macquarie. Royal Dutch Shell Plc are listed in the Oil & Gas sector within UK Main Market. Macquarie have set their target price at 2150 GBX on its stock. This would indicate that the analyst believes there is a potential upside of 3.7% from today’s opening price of 2073 GBX. Over the last 30 and 90 trading days the company share price has increased 7.5 points and increased 26.5 points respectively. The 52 week high for the share price is currently at 2295.5 GBX while the 52 week low for the share price is 1791 GBX.

[sarkasm] 24/7/2017 06:54

Shell and BP Q2 preview, majors may face further cuts

Written by Alan Shields - 24/07/2017 6:00 am

lain Armstrong of Brewin Dolphin

Oil majors may need to face up to further cost cutting as they prepare to release their second quarter results, according to one expert.

Iain Armstrong, equity analyst at Brewin Dolphin Securities, believes that unless there is a “significant” change in the oil price environment, further cuts are inevitable.

His comments come as BP and Shell prepare to update investors on Q2 of 2017.
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Mr Armstrong, said all eyes are on the Downstream and LNG sectors this quarter.
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He said: “With the weakness in oil and gas prices during the quarter all the focus is on downstream and LNG. Lower oil prices help input costs and demand has been okay after a poor Q1.

“We think there should be sequential improvement in refining, marketing and chemicals margins across all the regions, including Europe. Some of the benefit will be lost due to essential maintenance.

“However, weaker oil prices will mean that operating cash flow will be weaker sequentially for the majors, although significantly strong year-on-year.

“Part of this will be due to the catch up of unusually low capex in Q1. Nearly all the sell-side analysts have cut their medium term forecasts for oil resulting in some spectacular declines in EPS and more importantly cash flow for the next few years.”

He added: “Hopes for a balancing in the oil market in H2 are fading fast but be would caution being too bearish given the lag in actual reporting compared to the speculative observation of full tankers leaving US ports.

“Unless there is a significant change in oil fundamentals (change of attitude by the US producers, deeper cuts by OPEC or an unusual sharp uptick in demand) the oil majors will have to cut costs further.

“A willingness and a capacity to do so in potentially sub $50 oil world will be the key messages in the Q2 results.”

Shell will release Q2 results later this week. BP follows next week.

[grupo guitarlumber] 20/7/2017 19:41

IT SEEMS SHELL IS ON THE UP AND UP AS FOLLOWING DATES APPROACHED

Announcement date July 27, 2017
Ex-dividend date RDS A ADSs and RDS B ADSs August 9, 2017
Ex-dividend date RDS A and RDS B shares August 10, 2017