Shell Share Discussion Threads

[waldron] 09/4/2019 07:29

Oil markets may have to brace for ‘greater disruption,’ says strategist
Published 2 hours ago
Eustance Huang
@EustanceHuang




Key Points

Concerns about unrest in Libya, as well as sanctions on Venezuela and Iran, could add to worries about the “potential for greater disruption” ahead for oil markets, according to JTD Energy Services’ John Driscoll.

[waldron] 09/4/2019 07:27

European markets seen slightly lower, mood turns cautious
Published 39 min ago
Sam Meredith
@smeredith19




Key Points

The FTSE 100 is seen 9 points lower at 7,442, the CAC is expected to open down around 8 points at 5,463, while the DAX is poised to start 36 points lower at 11,926, according to IG.
Italy will publish month-on-month retail figures for February at around 9:00 a.m. London time.
Commerzbank is reportedly set to decide whether or not to continue merger talks with Deutsche Bank on Tuesday.

European stocks are set to open slightly lower Tuesday morning, as market participants prepare for key events later in the week.

[waldron] 08/4/2019 17:28

Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSB.LN) said Monday that it will invest $300 million in the protection and restoration of natural ecosystems over the next three years as part of its goal to reduce its carbon footprint by 2-3%.

Shell said it plans to invest in forests, wetlands and other natural ecosystems around the world. It said it will collaborate with the Dutch state forestry service to plant over 5 million trees in the Netherlands over the next 12 years. It also plans to plant 300,000 trees in the Spanish region of Castile and Leon by the end of 2019.

Elsewhere, Shell will invest in 200 new rapid electric-vehicle charge-points powered by renewable energy in its gas stations in the Netherlands, it said. These will add to the 500 ultra-fast chargers the company is already installing across Europe.

From April 17, Shell said it will give its customers filling up their tanks at its service stations in the Netherlands the option to offset their carbon emissions by buying credits to support environmental projects.

This will be done at no extra cost for those who choose Shell V-Power petrol or diesel, while those who fill up their tanks with regular Shell petrol or diesel will be asked at the counter whether they would like to offset their emissions for an additional 1 European cent a liter. The money drivers pay for the credits will be invested in projects such as tree planting.

Shell, which together with Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), BP PLC (BP.LN), Total SA (FP.FR) and Chevron Corp. (CVX) accounts for 10% of global oil output, said in 2018 that it would provide three- to five-year targets beginning in 2020 to reduce its net carbon footprint on an annual basis. It plans to incorporate the targets into a revised remuneration policy for executives, which will be subject to a shareholder vote in 2020.

According to environmental disclosure charity CDP, Shell is one of the top three companies best prepared for the low-carbon transition among the 24 largest and highest-impact publicly traded oil-and-gas companies.

However, oil companies' recent commitments to green investors remain modest and expenditure in alternative energies for the oil-and-gas sector is still low at $22 billion in 2018, CDP said.



Write to Maitane Sardon at [e-mail]



(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 08, 2019 11:41 ET (15:41 GMT)

[the white house] 08/4/2019 14:06

More eggs in one basket

[grupo guitarlumber] 08/4/2019 13:21

Enviromentally focused investor group Follow This to withdraw climate resolution at AGM

--The move aims to give Shell more time to align goals with Paris accord and is backed by key Dutch investors who will monitor the company's progress

--Follow This has similar resolutions planned for Equinor, BP and Chevron



By Oliver Griffin



Activist investor Follow This won't put forward a climate resolution at Royal Dutch Shell PLC's (RDSB.LN) annual general meeting this year to give the oil major more time to align itself with Paris Agreement objectives, a move that the company welcomed on Monday.

On Sunday, the Netherlands-based group of some 4,600 shareholders, which urges oil-and-gas companies to set long-term greenhouse gas emissions targets in line with the 2015 Paris accord, said it will withdraw its climate resolution from the agenda of the Anglo-Dutch company's AGM.

Shell said Monday it looked forward to receiving the formal documentation which supports the decision, which Follow This said it took based on the progress that Shell has made so far.

Follow This's decision follows discussions with six of Shell's top 10 Dutch investors--including Aegon NV (AGN.AE), NN Investment Partners and Van Lanschot Kempen NV (VLK.AE)--which have previously supported climate resolutions from the activist group. Follow This member Mark van Baal said it was due to these six companies' support for its climate resolutions that Shell had developed its "industry-leading" goals.

"Our mission is to have the entire oil-and-gas industry, which can make or break the Paris Climate Agreement, commit concretely to Paris and actually begin to invest in a sustainable energy supply," he said.

Follow This said its climate resolutions remain on the agendas of the AGMs of Equinor ASA (EQNR.OS), BP PLC (BP.LN) and Chevron Corp. (CVX).

Shell's climate goals are regarded as industry leading by Follow This in part because the company includes so-called Scope 3 emissions in its greenhouse gas-reduction targets. In this case, Scope 3 emissions are those generated by the fuels burned by Shell customers worldwide.

"Oil-and-gas companies had previously always taken the position that the emissions of their products fell outside the domain of their own responsibility," Mr. van Baal said.

Still, Follow This has pledged to keep up the pressure on Shell over emissions targets.

Mr. van Baal said: "Shell hasn't heard the last from us. We want Shell's investments to be aligned with Paris."

He said Shell's current targets aim for a reduction of just 30% in absolute carbon emissions by 2050. An energy company looking to bring its emissions targets in line with the Paris agreement would need to aim for a reduction of 65% to 90%, Follow This said.

Speaking on behalf of the six Dutch investors in Shell that back Follow This, NN Investment Partners' head of responsible investing, Adrie Heinsbroek, said: "We appreciate Shell's positive steps to align its climate ambitions with The Paris Agreement and encourage them to continue the transition. We are giving Shell this year to align its climate ambitions."

"We will continue to monitor closely and actively engage with Shell in the coming months and years," Mr. Heinsbroek said.

Last week Shell surprised the industry by saying it won't renew its membership with the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers in 2020 due to a material misalignment over climate policy. Shell decided to part ways with the trade association after conducting its first review on its association with 19 industry groups.

In March, Shell had said it aims to cut its net carbon footprint by up to 3% by 2021 compared with 2016, as it works to meet its goal of halving its greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050.

Last year, the Anglo-Dutch company said it would provide three- to five-year targets beginning in 2020 to reduce its net carbon footprint on an annual basis. Shell said it plans to incorporate the targets into a revised remuneration policy, which will be subject to a shareholder vote in 2020.



Write to Oliver Griffin at [e-mail]; @OliGGriffin



(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 08, 2019 07:24 ET (11:24 GMT)

[ariane] 08/4/2019 09:12

CITYAM

Monday 8 April 2019 8:43am
Oil prices reach new 2019 high as tensions rise in Libya
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Harry Robertson
Reporter covering economics and markets. You can send me stories or get in touch [..] Show more
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High Oil Prices Continue To Drive Gas Prices Steadily Upwards
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on oil producers to increase output to lower prices. (Source: Getty)

Oil prices hit a fresh 2019 high this morning with international standard Brent crude futures reaching $70.77 (£54.21) per barrel.

Read more: Unexpected rise in US oil stockpiles steals the wind from Opec’s sails

Brent crude first broke through the vaunted $70 mark for 2019 on Friday, after falling to a low of $50.47 in January from $86.29 in October. The World Texas Intermediate (WTI) future price also hit a year-high of $63.48 per barrel today.

Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM, said: “OPEC’s [Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries] ongoing supply cuts and US sanctions on Iran and Venezuela have been the major driver of prices throughout this year. However, the latest boost was received from an escalation of fighting in Libya which is threatening further supply disruption.”

On Friday and over the weekend tensions rose dramatically in the oil-producing country as the Libyan National Army headed by Khalifa Haftar advanced on the capital, Tripoli.

“If output from Libya is reduced significantly in the upcoming days and OPEC does not act, we may see a further five to 10 per cent surge in prices over the next two weeks,” he said.

The large drop in oil prices in the fourth quarter of 2018 came after oil producers turned on the taps at the behest of the Trump administration following its decision to slap sanctions on Iran in May, which raised fears of a production squeeze.

A plunging stock market also saw investors sell off risky assets such as commodities, while US-China trade tensions and higher interest rates added to oil’s problems.

The trend of falling oil prices ended in January, however, and since then the price has steadily been rising. This has caused consternation in the US White House, with President Donald Trump urging OPEC, an organisation comprised of 14 of the biggest oil producing states, to increase supply.

Read more: Oil price hits 2019 peak as Trump moots new sanctions against Iran

On 28 March Trump Tweeted: “Very important that OPEC increase the flow of Oil. World Markets are fragile, price of Oil getting too high. Thank you!”

[waldron] 08/4/2019 07:12

European markets seen lower amid concern over corporate earnings
Published 15 min ago
Sam Meredith
@smeredith19




Key Points

The FTSE 100 is seen 18 points lower at 7,426, the CAC is expected open down around 14 points at 5,462, while the DAX is poised to start 59 points lower at 11,950, according to IG.
Market focus is largely attuned to corporate results, with major U.S. banks set to get the ball rolling later in the week.

European stocks are set to open lower Monday morning, as investors prepared for what is expected to be a tough U.S. earnings season.

The FTSE 100 is seen 18 points lower at 7,426, the CAC is expected open down around 14 points at 5,462, while the DAX is poised to start 59 points lower at 11,950, according to IG.

[the grumpy old men] 07/4/2019 16:18

Goldman: The Renewables Revolution Is Good For Big Oil
By Irina Slav - Apr 07, 2019, 10:00 AM CDT
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The renewable energy revolution that many have been seen as a threat for the oil and gas industry will actually benefit one significant segment of it: Big Oil. That’s what Goldman Sachs’s head of natural resources research in the EMEA region told CNBC this week.

The reason for the counterintuitive conclusion has everything to do with size: the same factor that has made Big Oil the most likely winner in the shale patch as long as oil and gas prices don’t slump too low.

“The decarbonization push, the push from the market to adapt to climate change, is tightening the financial conditions in the sector so much that we’re recreating the barriers to entry and we’re reconsolidating the market structure we lost at the beginning of the 2000s,” Michele della Vigna said.

As the barriers to entry rise higher, there is less competition for Big Oil and more opportunities to maintain and improve profitability. In other words, the rise of renewables had provided the world’s supermajors with one more competitive advantage over smaller oil and gas companies.

Yet this competitive advantage from renewable energy is not the only factor working for Big Oil. According to della Vigna, the world’s supermajors will also benefit from the slowness of the transition process from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

“We hear a lot of stories of long-term substitution of oil demand with electricity but it’s going to take a long time. And in the meantime, demand remains robust, particularly in the emerging markets which continue to buy a lot of crude.”
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This is nothing new, in fact. China, India and other emerging economies are the main swing factors where oil demand is concerned. Every bit of economic data coming from that direction swings prices in the blink of an eye and will likely continue to do so amid what now looks like permanent supervolatility in the oil market.

Again, the supermajors are better placed to respond to demand from emerging economies, not least because their size and the scale of their operations allow for deeper cost cuts. This, in turn, makes their oil—and their gas—more competitive than the commodities of smaller producers lacking the financial and other resources to reduce their costs sufficiently.
Related: Sharp Rise In Rig Count Pressures Oil Prices

So, it seems, we are now witnessing what Goldman’s analyst calls “the restoration of the industry’s oligopolistic market structure.” After the flurry of independents that made the so-called first shale revolution possible before the 2014 price crash, now things are returning to their normal state with the supermajors dominating the landscape in oil and gas, in both shale and conventional production.

And if that isn’t enough, here’s some more good news for Big Oil: according to della Vigna, the oil market will swing into a deficit in the next decade, reflecting the slump in investments in new production during the downturn. Those with big cash piles will be the companies to benefit from the tighter supply situation.

There is always the possibility of a surprise, of course, but bar any of these, supermajors have scarce competition to look forward to over the next few years.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

[the grumpy old men] 07/4/2019 13:38

DOES SHELL HAVE OPERATIONS IN LIBYA


Wondering what affect on share price and oil prices next week or so

[the grumpy old men] 07/4/2019 13:37

Eni to withdraw staff of Italian nationality from Libya
Apr 7, 2019

Italian energy company Eni said it has decided to withdraw all its Italian national staff from Libya, confirming the evacuation of Italian employees from Al-Wafa and El Feel oilfields, as well as the capital Tripoli.

The Italian Foreign Ministry said that the step was taken in coordination between the two countries, while it has not confirmed yet the withdrawal of its diplomatic staff from its embassy in Tripoli, despite all European diplomats are present in Tunisia.

“The situation in the oil facilities in Libya are under control and the company is following development on the ground closely,” Eni Spokesman said.



Source: Libya Observer

[fjgooner] 07/4/2019 13:20

3 Top Dividend Stocks With Yields Over 5%

United Microelectronics, Royal Dutch Shell, and Cedar Fair offer high yields and potential high returns.

Rich Duprey, John Bromels, and Anders Bylund (TMFCop)
Apr 6, 2019 at 6:36AM

Rules are meant to be broken, which is why the admonishment to not chase yield, though usually correct, doesn't necessarily apply when it comes to United Microelectronics (NYSE:UMC), Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS-A) (NYSE:RDS-B), and Cedar Fair (NYSE:FUN).

These three stocks offer yields north of 5%, which traditional investing sense says makes them riskier bets. But we asked three Motley Fool contributors to explain why investors would do well to ignore the rule book in these instances.

These 6.2% yields won't last (for all the best reasons)

-----

These numbers aren't lying

John Bromels (Royal Dutch Shell): You can't deny that among oil and gas companies, Royal Dutch Shell is a top dividend stock. Its current yield of 5.9% is the best in its class and has been for the better part of a year. In fact, you'd have to go all the way back to 2013 to find a time when Shell didn't have the highest or almost-highest yield among the oil majors.

So clearly dividend investors should probably always have one eye on Shell, but right now is an excellent time for everyone else to keep an eye on the company as well. That's because right now, Shell is looking particularly undervalued compared to the rest of the industry. Its P/E ratio of 11.4 is easily the lowest of the integrated oil majors (Total's is 13.7; all the others are above 16), whereas it's historically been on the higher end. By another popular valuation metric, enterprise value to EBITDA, which strips out depreciation expenses, it's likewise the cheapest, with its 5.0 valuation edging out Total's 5.1 for the best spot (lower is better; all the other majors are above 6).

So it's cheap and it has a high yield...but plenty of companies with big problems can say the same. Does Shell have major problems right now? Well, not unless you consider making a ton of money a problem. In the company's most recent quarter, revenue was up 18.7% year over year, earnings were up 48%, and operating cash flow increased an astonishing 202.2%. Much of this was thanks to a big increase in the price of natural gas, an area in which Shell has made big investments in recent years.

A well-run company with a cheap valuation and a monster yield is a trifecta that doesn't come along very often. Now is a great time to consider buying Shell.

[waldron] 05/4/2019 21:09

The next industry to be drastically changed by AI: Oil and gas

By Kayla Matthews
Published 1 minute ago

No Comments

Back in 2015, Shell launched an artificial intelligence-powered assistant for their lubricant service customers. Represented by digital avatars Emma and Ethan, the assistant assists customers with lubricant-related questions and concerns. It’s available around the clock, which means people can reach out at any time of the day or night and receive answers in seconds.

Shell claims that the assistant can handle over 100,000 data sheets for 3,000 products, and understands 16,500 physical characteristics of lubricants. The technology can also provide detailed information to customers about more than 18,500 pack sizes.

It is incredibly inventive and highlights just how powerful and influential AI can be in the oil and gas sector. But it’s only representative of AI being used in a customer service capacity. The technology is so much more capable than that, exactly why it’s poised to disrupt and revolutionize the field.

Markets and Markets estimate that artificial intelligence in the oil and gas industry will grow from 2017 to 2022 to a market size of 2.85 billion U.S. dollars.

1. Locating New Reservoirs and Environmental Conservation

A collaboration between ExxonMobile and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) was established to develop a "self-learning, submersible robot" that will be used for ocean exploration. More specifically, the robots will "have the ability to detect natural [oil] seeps in the ocean floor."

Certain leakages or "seeps" occur when oil escapes and makes contact with seawater, originally restricted by highly pressurized sea rock. A large majority of the oil underneath North America originates from these leakages.

It leaks into the ocean and, just like oil spills on the surface, ruins the surrounding area including plant life and aquatic animals. The robots -- powered by AI -- will help discover these leaks, allowing us to better protect our oceans and also locate new oil reservoirs. Finding new gas sources is necessary to keep up with supply and demand. Oil and gas exploration is such as huge part of advancing the industry and requires state-of-the-art tools from next-gen drills and pumps, to AI-driven platforms.

2. Efficiency and Data Analysis

One of the benefits of modern technologies like AI is that they can be used to find new mediums and applications. That’s exactly the case with Gazprom and Yandex’s joint venture which will be used to find and explore possible applications of AI in the industry.

Alexander Khaytin, the executive director of Yandex Data Factory, believes that AI is the next logical step for assessing and processing data volumes that are quickly becoming commonplace in oil and gas. The AI will pour over "massive volumes of data" in order to identify "easy solutions for optimizing production and business processes [which] have long since been implemented."

It’s natural that new technology, especially one as powerful as AI, would be questionable in terms of how it can be applied. But over time, new solutions will present themselves or they may even be crafted by players in the market.

3. Smart Manufacturing Tool

China Petroleum and chemical corporation Sinopec announced a partnership with Huawei -- a Chinese telecom company -- to develop what is being described as a "smart manufacturing platform." The tool will be used to centralize data management and provide support for multiple applications that will be used in manufacturing and factory settings. In other words, the technology will be used to manage and drive operations in a more modern, intelligent way.

The AI is also designed to extract and assess valuable insights that can be used to further improve operations, boosting overall efficiency.

There’s More to Come

While many of the applications discussed here are already being used in the real world, they are not the only examples of oil and gas companies experimenting with the technology.

Expect to see a lot more innovations in AI and data processing, many of which should improve operational efficiency and change the way things play out.

Photo Credit: ded pixto/Shutterstock

Kayla Matthews is a senior writer at MakeUseOf and a freelance writer for Digital Trends. To read more from Kayla, visit her website productivitybytes.com.