RYDAF - Royal Dutch Shell plc
| Previous Close | 17.63 |
| Open | 17.80 |
| Bid | 0.00 x 0 |
| Ask | 0.00 x 0 |
| Day's Range | 17.45 - 17.91 |
| 52 Week Range | 10.70 - 33.50 |
| Volume | 42,512 |
| Avg. Volume | 142,354 |
| Market Cap | 134.442B |
| Beta (5Y Monthly) | 0.83 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | 7.03 |
| EPS (TTM) | 2.51 |
| Earnings Date | N/A |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | 0.64 (3.63%) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | May 14, 2020 |
| 1y Target Est | N/A |
- Bloomberg
OPEC+ Set to Extend Output Cuts After Breakthrough With Iraq
(Bloomberg) -- OPEC+ is set to extend production cuts to prop up the oil market after a breakthrough in high-stakes negotiations, with the alliance meeting on Saturday to sign off on the deal.After almost a week of wrangling, OPEC+ leaders Russia and Saudi Arabia clinched a tentative deal with holdout member Iraq, according to a delegate. The pair were pushing Iraq to stop shirking its share of cuts and to compensate for failure to comply with cuts in the past. OPEC will meet on Saturday at 1 p.m. London time, followed by an OPEC+ meeting two hours later, delegates said.The agreement -- though still to be ratified -- means OPEC+ will extend its record production curbs for another month until the end of July. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose above $40 a barrel.The 23-nation partnership between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other major producers has helped engineer a doubling in Brent prices since April. That has revived the fortunes of major energy companies like Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, and eased pressure on the budgets of oil-rich nations.Failure to reach an agreement this month could have brought millions of barrels of oil onto the market, undermining a tentative recovery as countries start emerging from coronavirus lockdowns. With U.S. shale production starting to come back online, OPEC’s careful management of the demand recovery is crucial.The kingdom and the Kremlin, who were on opposite sides of a vicious price war until a peace deal in April, are now united against those in OPEC who have consistently failed to shoulder their share of the burden. Russia, a habitual laggard, has complied punctiliously with the historic deal brokered by President Donald Trump in April, and wants to make sure others do too.“Reunited in leadership of OPEC+ and grimly facing many more months, if not years, of oversupply, Russia and Saudi Arabia had little to lose and much to gain by imposing concrete measure to improve compliance by the laggards, especially Iraq,” said Bob McNally, founder of consultant Rapidan Energy Group and a former White House official.The details of the deal between OPEC+ and Iraq on compliance were still not clear early on Friday. OPEC+ is used to dramatic glitches endangering deals at the last minute, so delegates said nothing would be agreed until formal communications take place.Tougher conditions will be difficult for Iraq to accept. It made less than half of its assigned cutbacks last month, so compensating fully would require it to slash production by a further 24% to about 3.28 million barrels a day, according to Bloomberg calculations.For a country still rebuilding its economy following decades of war, sanctions and Islamist insurgency, that’s a tall order. The government risks a backlash from parliamentarians and rival political parties by acceding to foreign pressure and foregoing crucial oil sales.Three other nations -- Angola, Kazakhstan and Nigeria -- also produced above their OPEC+ quotas in May. The three had earlier on Thursday already agreed to bring their production in line with the agreement.The DealEnforcing better compliance among OPEC+ nations has been a motif since Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman was appointed.In his first public outing after becoming energy minister, in Abu Dhabi last September, the prince was literally applauded for securing loud pledges of atonement from Iraq and Nigeria.His tenure has also been stormy. In March, the prince’s attempt to force Russia to make deeper output reductions backfired spectacularly, splintering the entire alliance and igniting a destructive price war.Two months ago, Prince Abdulaziz’s achievement in successfully restoring the OPEC+ coalition and forging an agreement for historic production cuts was overshadowed -- and delayed -- by a spat over Mexico’s contribution.The final deal in April set out historic cuts of 9.7 million barrels a day, or roughly 10% of global oil supplies, to offset the unprecedented collapse in demand caused by the virus lockdowns. Then a few weeks later, Saudi Arabia and its closest allies in the Persian Gulf promised additional supply restraint of 1.2 million barrels a day in June.If a new accord is signed this weekend, the impact on the oil market could be dramatic. After the massive oversupply earlier this year, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak predicts there could be a supply deficit of 3 million to 5 million barrels a day next month, Interfax reported. That’s roughly in line with projections from an OPEC committee that met on Wednesday, a delegate said.That would provide a stronger foundation for the crude price recovery, and also allow the cartel to start chipping away at the billion-barrel stockpile that’s built up during the crisis.Separately, OPEC+’s technical committee and the ministerial monitoring committee are set to meet on June 17-18, according to delegates.(Updates with timing OPEC, OPEC+ June 6 meeting from delegates)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Oilprice.com
A Perfect Storm For Petrochemicals
The oil majors have made huge bets on plastics and petrochemicals in recent years, but those investments look increasingly shaky following the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn
- Zacks
Top Analyst Reports for JPMorgan, Exxon Mobil & Oracle
Top Analyst Reports for JPMorgan, Exxon Mobil & Oracle
- Bloomberg
Big Oil Can Help Renewables by Spinning Them Off
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Big Oil’s forays into renewable energy have drawn a lot of skepticism. Besides accusations of greenwashing, any oil CEO embracing energy transition must somehow convince investors to trust them putting cash into unfamiliar businesses that might need a lot of upfront spending before there’s much in the way of profits. It’s a race against time; a race to prove the CEO isn’t just splurging money on their version of the vision thing. One way to try getting there faster involves a lesson from a more familiar bit of the energy business: pipelines.Hard as it is to imagine now, there was a time when pipelines were hot investments. Master limited partnerships, the tax-advantaged structures that usually housed them, were in huge demand in the years after the financial crisis due to their high payouts and shale-fueled growth. MLPs traded at almost double the earnings multiple of the wider energy sector.Some of the easiest money ever made in the history of investment banking involved showing some variation of that chart to an oil producer and saying something like: “Hey, how about we double the value of those old pipelines you own by sticking them into a new thing called [Company Name] Partners LP and spinning it off? That’ll be $20 million please. I’ll get an analyst started on the lucite.”Of 188 IPOs of MLPs since 1986, almost 40% happened in that five-year period between 2010 and 2014, according to data from Alerian. Roughly two-thirds of MLP-dedicated investment funds launched then. What a time it was. As is often the way with such things, it got a bit out of hand. It turns out steering yield-starved investors toward companies with all the governance of benevolent dictatorships, minus the benevolence, can lead to sub-optimal outcomes.Even so, the original premise remains valid: taking assets that aren’t valued by one set of investors and offering them to another set that might. Nobody’s buying shares in the likes of Royal Dutch Shell Plc or BP Plc because of their solar farms or vehicle-charging ventures — or, given Covid-19’s ravaging of oil demand, buying their shares at all. If these companies are serious about maintaining transition strategies once this crisis passes, then spinning off the assets should be a high priority.For one thing, transition-flavored companies have generally weathered the pandemic better.Like those MLPs of yore, transition stocks garner higher valuations too. There are ludicrous extremes such as Tesla Inc., but more down-to-earth stocks such as Danish wind pioneers Ørsted A/S and Vestas Wind Systems A/S or Florida’s NextEra Energy Partners LP also command multiples oil majors should envy. And as for Tesla, while its four-figure earnings multiple makes no sense, what should unnerve the majors is the sheer zeal of its fans and power of its narrative despite all the red ink and red flags.An analysis just published jointly by London’s Imperial College Business School and the International Energy Agency reinforces this in two ways. Examining portfolios of U.S. and European companies linked to fossil fuels and renewable energy, the authors find the new kids generated both higher and less volatile shareholder returns over five and 10-year windows.Perhaps more important is the sheer paucity of renewable energy stocks available. The study’s U.S. fossil fuel basket, for example, has 163 constituents. The corresponding renewable power portfolio has only 18, a couple of which no longer exist and one of which is a regulated utility with an interesting backstory, PG&E Corp.This gets at a big problem: It’s hard for the average investor to gain exposure to pure energy transition themes, as the assets often reside in private-equity-like portfolios or inside bigger companies that do everything from energy to autos to construction.Even though it’s nascent relative to the incumbent energy business, the amounts invested are already large. Bloomberg NEF’s database of clean energy asset financing adds up to $3.3 trillion from 2004-19, with almost half of that in the past five years. Yet while investors can pick or choose from any number of frackers, miners or majors — and dedicated funds tracking them — participating in renewable energy or other transition themes is much harder.That’s a big problem for the transition itself. Capital costs can make or break renewable energy projects; with little running cost, virtually all the outlay is upfront. The IEA, in its latest energy investment report, released in May, noted that getting lower-cost institutional money into a wind project can be the difference between single- and double-digit returns (and, therefore, whether the project goes ahead). Similarly, without ready access to cheap capital, there would have been no shale boom (or no Tesla, for that matter). This is where oil majors seeking a relevant role in energy transitions might be useful. Rolling up a set of ventures hidden inside an oil major trading on a low multiple is a good way to destroy value. It also lends credence to accusations of greenwashing: If you’re serious, then why obscure the scale and performance of these assets by lumping them in with natural gas or making them a quarterly line item?Spinning them out into separate companies instead should provide higher valuations and, therefore, a means to raise cheaper capital for new projects, by expanding the pool of dedicated options for interested investors. Meanwhile, traditional oil investors needn’t be jealous of dollars heading into renewable energy projects. The majors could retain large stakes and even co-brand them; presumably, BP and Shell have retained names such as Lightsource and Greenlots for a reason. The only imperative is to avoid the conflicts and fetid governance that ultimately undid many MLPs.A consistent refrain of Big Oil is that its sheer bigness provides an edge. That doesn’t fit neatly with the distributed and modular nature of renewable energy and other transition-related businesses. But heft could help where it really counts: raising money.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Liam Denning is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy, mining and commodities. He previously was editor of the Wall Street Journal's Heard on the Street column and wrote for the Financial Times' Lex column. He was also an investment banker.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
Shell weighs sale of $2 bln-plus stake in Queensland LNG facilities
Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> is considering raising more than $2 billion (1.59 billion pounds) from the sale of a stake in the common facilities at its Queensland Curtis LNG plant in Australia, according to a sale flyer reviewed by Reuters. "Royal Dutch Shell plc is considering a sale of a 26.25% interest in the Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) Common Facilities - a multibillion dollar investment opportunity," the sale flyer said.
- Reuters
Exclusive: China snaps up Russia's expensive Urals oil in thirst for sour barrels
China's refiners have purchased a quarter of Russia's Urals oil exports planned for June in the Baltic despite record high premiums for the grade due to a lack of sour barrels as result of the OPEC+ output cuts, traders said and shipping data showed. Rising demand for Russian barrels will likely make oil firms more reluctant to extend the record oil cuts in tandem with OPEC+ for a prolonged period of time. Russia has to decide shortly as OPEC+ countries may meet this week.
- Oilprice.com
A Nightmare Scenario For Offshore Oil
The offshore oil industry is facing a growing number of impossible challenges, leaving the future of the sector increasingly uncertain
- Bloomberg
British Gas Owner’s 33-Year Reign in FTSE 100 Index Nears an End
(Bloomberg) -- British Gas’s more than three-decade connection to the U.K.’s blue-chip stock index looks set to come to an end after shares of parent Centrica Plc plunged by more than half this year.Analysts expect Centrica to be demoted from the FTSE 100 benchmark in a quarterly re-shuffle next week. That would represent a moment of historical significance for a stock that under different names has been ever-present in the gauge since 1986, the year that the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher privatized British Gas through an initial public offering.The shares’ 56% slide this year has reduced the company’s market value to a level where it no longer passes the test to retain its position in the FTSE 100.“Centrica’s ejection would cap a multi-year share-price slide that dates back to a peak of almost 400 pence in 2013,” Russ Mould, investment director at brokerage AJ Bell, said in emailed commentary. The stock closed on Thursday at 39.05 pence, valuing the business at 2.3 billion pounds ($2.8 billion).According to guidelines from index provider FTSE Russell, a stock will be removed from the FTSE 100 if its market capitalization ranks 111 or below among eligible shares at the time of the re-balancing. At its current valuation, Centrica is the 140th biggest company on the FTSE All Share index. The next quarterly review will be based on June 2 closing prices and announced on June 3.The first half of 2020 has been torrid for Centrica, which suspended its dividend and paused a planned sale of North Sea oil and gas assets last month after the Covid-19 pandemic sapped energy demand and triggered a slump in crude prices. Chief Executive Officer Iain Conn stepped down in March after five years leading the group.But the share price fall dates back a lot further than that. On top of a longer-term slide in oil prices, the company has faced competition from smaller challengers like Octopus Energy and Bulb, while also being hit by a price cap by the U.K. Office of Gas and Electricity Markets. The shares are now 90% below a record high set in 2013.Tell SidBritish Gas Plc joined the FTSE 100 on Dec. 9, 1986 after a share sale that was promoted in a government television campaign urging Britons to spread word of the investment opportunity by telling “Sid,” a name that was meant to represent the general public.In 1997, the company, whose history stretches back more than 200 years, was split into separate firms, BG Plc and Centrica Plc. BG later became BG Group Plc and was bought by Royal Dutch Shell Plc in a deal announced in 2015.British Gas, under Centrica, has seen its share of the domestic market steadily decline over the past 15 years, according to Ofgem data, also losing ground to rivals like Electricite de France SA and SSE Plc.That said, a potential turnaround isn’t being ruled out by some analysts.“Following years of structural challenges faced by Centrica in the U.K. retail market, failed attempts to deliver growth in its consumer business and falling profits from its commodity-exposed units, we believe the worst is behind the company,” Citigroup analyst Jenny Ping wrote in a May 21 note.The company has sufficient liquidity to navigate volatile demand due to the pandemic, and a future simplification of the group could boost the shares, Ping wrote.A spokesman for Centrica declined to comment on the upcoming index review when reached by phone.Other stocks that might be demoted from the FTSE 100 in next week’s review include Princes and P&O cruise operator Carnival Plc, budget airline EasyJet Plc and plane-parts maker Meggitt Plc, reflecting the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on global travel demand, according to Helal Miah, an analyst at investment broker The Share Centre, who spoke by phone.That would potentially leave them vulnerable to selling by funds whose aim is to mirror the performance of the FTSE 100 -- known as tracker funds.Stocks that could be added to the benchmark gauge include cybersecurity firm Avast Plc, betting company GVC Holdings Plc and home emergency and repair services provider HomeServe Plc, Miah said.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Zacks
Why You Should Hold on to National Fuel Gas (NFG) Stock Now
National Fuel Gas' (NFG) strong presence in the Appalachian region and decision to acquire Shell's assets make it an excellent stock to retain in your portfolio amid the present scenario.
- Zacks
B&G Foods, Boot Barn, Royal Dutch Shell, TOTAL and BP highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
B&G Foods, Boot Barn, Royal Dutch Shell, TOTAL and BP highlighted as Zacks Bull and Bear of the Day
- Reuters
Exclusive: Coronavirus spreads in Brazil's oilfields, as 6 offshore operators register cases
Norway's Equinor ASA <EQNR.OL>, Brazil's Dommo Energia SA <DMMO3.SA> and Anglo-French firm Perenco are among at least six oil producers that have registered coronavirus cases among employees or contractors at facilities off the coast of Brazil, according to industry and regulatory sources. Royal Dutch Shell PLC <RDSa.L> and Brazil's Enauta Participacoes SA <ENAT3.SA> have registered one case each.
- Bloomberg
No Country for Oil Refiners: Philippine Plants Shut on Weak Demand
(Bloomberg) -- The Philippines has been left temporarily without any operating oil refineries as one of the world’s longest lockdowns eviscerates demand.Petron Corp., the nation’s largest oil company, said Tuesday its 180,000 barrel-a-day refinery has been shut since May 5 for maintenance while fuel demand is low. Royal Dutch Shell Plc said the nation’s only other refinery remains temporarily shut after it took it down earlier this month when consumption dropped.Officials from both plants said they would be able to meet their petroleum product needs from inventories or imports. The country’s economy is facing its deepest contraction in more than three decades after it became the first country in Southeast Asia to shut large swathes of its economy in mid-March“Business is challenging,” Petron President Ramon Ang said. “Demand recovery will depend upon the lifting of the quarantine measures and, ultimately, finding a vaccine to fully restore mobility.”Petron swung to a net loss of 4.9 billion pesos ($97 million) in the first quarter from a profit of 1.3 billion pesos a year ago as the value of its inventory collapsed along with prices. Shell’s Philippine unit posted a loss of 5.5 billion pesos during the period, compared with a 2.4 billion peso profit a year ago.President Rodrigo Duterte began reopening the country’s economy earlier this month, allowing malls and some businesses in Manila to return May 16.Asked via phone text message when he expected the refinery to restart, Petron’s Ang had a curt reply: “When there’s demand.”For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Oilprice.com
Is The Oil Rally Coming To An End?
The recent and rapid rally in oil prices appears to have been thwarted by some worrying rumors surrounding China’s economic recovery
- Bloomberg
Shell, Eni Win Dismissal of Nigeria Bribery Lawsuit
(Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Eni SpA won dismissal of a $1 billion U.K. lawsuit brought against them over allegations they knew about bribes in a Nigerian oil deal.A London judge ruled Friday that England has no jurisdiction to try the case as it involves the same essential facts as a separate Italian criminal case.The ruling is a victory for the oil companies, which have been clouded by accusations in a years-old dispute over exploration rights to a tract in the Gulf of Guinea called Oil Prospecting License 245 that has spread to courtrooms throughout Europe.The Nigerian government claims that money the companies paid to acquire the oil exploration license in 2011 was diverted to bribes and kickbacks. It says Shell and Eni are partly responsible for the behavior of Nigerian officials who used a $1.1 billion payment to acquire the oil block for personal enrichment. Shell and Eni have denied any wrongdoing.“We maintain that the 2011 settlement of long-standing legal disputes related to OPL 245 was a fully legal transaction with Eni and the Federal Government of Nigeria, represented by the most senior officials of the relevant ministries,” Shell said in a statement.Eni said it was pleased with the decision and added that the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission and U.S. Department of Justice have also closed investigations into the Italian company’s involvement with OPL 245.The Nigerian government said in its own statement that the Italian criminal case has a completely separate legal basis from the U.K. civil case and it would seek permission to appeal.The ruling does not affect ongoing Italian criminal proceedings, where Nigeria has a separate legal claim.(Updates with Eni comment in sixth paragraph)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
Spain's Repsol pulls out of planned Arctic JV in Russia
Spain's Repsol <REP.MC> has pulled out of a planned joint venture to develop two Arctic oil blocks with Russia's Gazprom Neft <SIBN.MM> and Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L>, a spokesman at Repsol said on Friday. Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Russian gas giant Gazprom <GAZP.MM>, Repsol and Shell signed a memorandum of understanding last June on establishing a joint venture to develop the Leskinsky and Pukhutsyayakhsky blocks on the Gydan Peninsula in northern Siberia.
- Reuters
UK court throws out Nigerian oil corruption case against Shell, Eni
An English court threw out a $1.1 billion case Nigeria had brought against Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> and Eni <ENI.MI> related to a dispute over the OPL 245 oilfield, a court document showed on Friday, while a related trial in Italy continues. The Nigerian government filed the case in 2018 at a commercial court in London alleging payments made by the companies to get the oilfield licence in 2011 were used for kickbacks and bribes. Justice Butcher said in his ruling seen by Reuters that the High Court "must decline jurisdiction over the action against" Shell and the other defendants.
- Bloomberg
Metals Can Leap Over the Oil Slick
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- After 2008, metals and oil rebounded together from the depths of the financial crisis, as China’s consumption of raw materials took off. This time, their recoveries may look quite different.Crude faces a lengthy convalescence from the catastrophic lows of April, when U.S. oil plunged into negative territory. Industrial metal prices have fallen far less, and look healthier: Closures to control the spread of coronavirus in countries like Peru have squeezed production, just as China is gearing up. Add in Beijing’s infrastructure plans, expected to be outlined at the National People’s Congress meeting starting Friday, plus the prospect of green stimulus and more mineral-intensive clean energy, and the outlook looks rosier still.Copper is indicative of these divergent paths. Out of other metals, Bloomberg Intelligence reckons it has moved most closely with oil over 160 years — a coefficient of 0.96 over that time. The link is beginning to weaken, and the current crisis will only make that more pronounced.Why so?Oil has certainly made an impressive comeback over the past few weeks: Many producers are still losing money, but West Texas Intermediate is back above $30, and there was no repeat of April’s crash when the contract rolled over this week. Brent crude is up almost 90% after last month dropping below $20. That’s because the supply glut has shrunk, thanks to the end of Russia’s price war with Saudi Arabia and significant involuntary shutdowns among U.S. producers, easing concerns about global storage capacity. That’s helpful, even if improving prices could bring back some shale activity.Metals have also taken a hit to output from coronavirus lockdowns in Latin America and elsewhere. In late April, BMO analysts estimated these affected 23% of global capacity for copper, 15% for nickel and 24% for zinc. Projects like Anglo American Plc’s Quellaveco in Peru, where workers downed tools, could see delays. That’s helped copper to rise back toward a modest $5,500 per metric ton.Supply reductions aren’t enough to make a difference without better demand, though, and that’s where the divergence becomes clearer. China tells part of the story. Construction activity and manufacturing are on the mend, drawing down metal inventories. It’s true that oil consumption is reviving, too: China’s taxis, buses and cars have been back at normal levels since early April, and traffic congestion has returned. But while that’s good news for gasoline and local refiners, it’s hardly salvation for global oil. Recoveries elsewhere are progressing more slowly and most of the world’s aircraft are still grounded. Simply put, China’s recovery matters more for metals, with the country accounting for roughly half of global consumption. By comparison, it makes up less than 14% of oil demand.Now consider the cautious nature of Beijing’s economic reboot, which is a signal for other countries, and the bumps along the post-pandemic road to recovery. These make the picture darker for oil. Factories might keep producing washing machines, but more of us will stay away from leisure travel and work from home if incidents like the reappearance of the virus in China’s northeast repeat themselves. It’s not even clear that an aversion to the risks of public transport will get us back in our cars again, as my colleague David Fickling has pointed out. Demand for personal protective equipment like masks is hardly enough to offset a drop in gasoline and even jet fuel, which past experience suggests will take years to recover.The NPC is expected to include a revived version of past efforts to develop the country’s western hinterland, alongside other stimulus efforts. No one anticipates a boost akin to what was seen in 2008. Even a similar amount would probably have a weaker multiplier effect — yet the boost will matter for copper, zinc and more. And that’s before the wider green fiscal push, in and outside China, that favors mined materials needed for batteries, grids and energy storage. The solar industry in Asia-Pacific alone is expected to use around 378,000 tons of copper by 2027, almost double 2018 levels.Mark Lewis, global head of sustainability research at BNP Paribas Asset Management, splits the long-term pressures in three: the world’s push toward reducing carbon emissions, cheap renewable energy and air pollution, highlighted by the clear blue skies of recent weeks. Add in the behavioral changes brought by the pandemic and the future of oil is more uncertain than ever, he argues. With even Royal Dutch Shell Plc arguing that peak oil demand will come sooner than expected, it’s hard to disagree.There may not be a uniform global green stimulus, and some ambitions will remain just that. Yet a World Bank report last week gives an indication of the potential growth story: It says the goal of limiting the global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius will require production of graphite, lithium, and cobalt to ramp up by more than 450% by 2050, compared with 2018, in order to meet energy storage requirements. Aluminum and copper, used across technologies, will also be in demand. And that’s excluding infrastructure like transmission lines.In the future we’ll still need oil. We just might need metals more.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Clara Ferreira Marques is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering commodities and environmental, social and governance issues. Previously, she was an associate editor for Reuters Breakingviews, and editor and correspondent for Reuters in Singapore, India, the U.K., Italy and Russia.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Oilprice.com
The African Nation That Can’t Get Its Energy Industry Off The Ground
Tanzania has seen some successful exploration results in recent years, but has failed to take advantage of it as a result of budding bureaucracy
- Reuters
Shell has begun drilling Saturn offshore block, Brazil chief says
Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> has begun drilling the Saturn block in the Santos pre-salt basin, the company's Brazil chief said on Thursday, adding that Brazil faces hurdles to remain attractive in a low-price environment. Brazil's No. 2 oil producer after state-run Petroleo Brasileiro <PETR4.SA>, Shell is the operator of block with a 45% stake, along with Chevron <CVX.N>, also at 45%, and Ecopetrol, with 10%. Araujo stressed that the global oil industry scenario is challenging and that Brazil faces regulatory challenges to remain attractive, with a new level of prices ahead.
- Bloomberg
Shell Plans Voluntary Job Losses to Mitigate Oil Slump
(Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc will use measures including voluntary severance for staff to bolster its finances as the coronavirus pandemic batters profits, according to people with knowledge of the matter.In a note to staff, Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden wrote that the organization was being reshaped to make it leaner and more resilient, the people said. The company has already slashed spending and surprised investors with a two-thirds cut to its dividend.Shell isn’t the only company making big changes to withstand the unprecedented oil-industry disruption caused by Covid-19. Most of its peers have made big spending reductions, while Norway’s Equinor ASA also cut its dividend.BP Plc promised its employees their jobs were safe at least until the end of June, but companies including Chevron Corp., Marathon Oil Corp. and Halliburton Corp. are laying off employees.As well as the offer of voluntary severance, the people said that Shell is seeking savings by significantly scaling back external recruitment and reviewing the contracts of expatriate staff. There could be further redundancies related to the pandemic in the second half of the year, they said.“Over the coming months we will go through a comprehensive review of the company. Where appropriate we will redesign our organization to adapt to a different future and emerge stronger,” Shell said by email in response to questions from Bloomberg about van Beurden’s memo.The CEO wrote that Shell will have a clearer picture of what the reorganization of the company will look like by the end of the year, with some divisions being affected more than others, the people said.Van Beurden reiterated that there wouldn’t be a group performance bonus for anyone in the company, having first announced the measure when Shell reported its first quarter results. The memo also added that there should be low expectations for salary increases over the next 18 months, the people said.(Updates with other companies’ layoffs in fourth paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Zacks
America's Fossil Fuel or Europe's Bet on Low Carbon Future?
The coronavirus pandemic has indelibly impacted the global energy sector. Although the demand for oil has noticeably dropped and prices have plunged, the pace of shift to renewable energy from fossil fuel is still uncertain.
- Reuters
Shell evacuates foreign staff from Iraq's Basra Gas project - executives
Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> evacuated some 60 foreign staff from Iraq's Basra Gas Company as a security measure following a protest over delayed pay, company officials said on Thursday, adding production was unaffected. The staff were flown out of the country on Wednesday after workers protested at the headquarters of Basra Gas Company (BGC), a venture between state-owned South Gas Company, Shell and Mitsubishi <8058.T>, to demand payment of their delayed salaries, officials said. "Shell confirms that as result of a security breach at the accommodation camp of Basra Gas Company, we have temporarily relocated Shell secondees," Shell said in emailed comments.
- Motley Fool
Better Buy: ExxonMobil vs. Royal Dutch Shell
Probably the most significant piece of recent news from either company is Shell's late-April announcement that it was cutting its dividend by two-thirds, down to just $0.32/ADR share. This surprise move, the company's first dividend cut since World War II, took Shell from being the highest yielder among the five oil majors to the lowest.
- Oilprice.com
The Oil Bulls Are Back
Some positive news about a possible COVID-19 vaccine as well as signs of the market tightening has caused oil to rally above $30
- Zacks
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: JPMorgan Chase, AbbVie, Royal Dutch Shell, Gilead Sciences and Anthem
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: JPMorgan Chase, AbbVie, Royal Dutch Shell, Gilead Sciences and Anthem
