Shell: Oil trading slows as gas picks up pace amid wholesale price spikes
Shell’s oil trading has slowed, with the latest wave of the pandemic hitting fuel sales, while gas trading appears stronger amid a wholesale price spike.
In its latest trading update, the energy giant added that it will embark on its $7bn share buyback “at pace”.
Production and liquefaction volumes were knocked in Shell’s fourth quarter by unplanned maintenance, mainly in Australia.
It means LNG liquefaction volumes are forecast to be between one to two million tonnes less than its peak of 9.2m, the energy giant said in its latest trading update.
However, Shell assured investors that LNG trading results in the fourth quarter of 2021 are to be “significantly higher” compared to the previous quarter.
Shell has also continued to reap the rewards of the wholesale gas pricing crisis which has hit Europe and pushed many UK suppliers into administration.
Benchmark European gas prices and Asian LNG prices hit all-time highs in the fourth quarter of 2021, after spiking half way through the year.
The results come as the oil and gas heavyweight bats off calls from activist investors, such as Third Point, to split up.
Shell boss Ben van Beurden has argued against this, because “a very significant part of this energy transition is going to be funded by the legacy business”.