Royal Ducth Shell oil company Europe’s largest, said net income for the first quarter increased 57 percent. increasing the ratio of net income, an increase in world oil prices, increased oil production and reduce costs. Oil production in the first quarter of 2009 reached 3.59 million barrels of oil per day. Shell reported a net profit of $ 5480000000 acquired, up $ 3490000000 for the same period last year and corporate profits totaled $ 86 billion to $ 52.2 billion.
“Until now, the company in 2010, oil prices have remained, and demand for petrochemical products has increased, but margins from refining, petroleum product demand and gas prices all stay in cash pressure “, Chief Executive Officer Peter Voser said in a statement.
“Although there are signs of improved economic outlook, we are not relying on it, we continue our efforts on the growth of cash flows, supported by the startup of new projects and reduce costs. ”
Shell has invested heavily in new capacity throughout the recession, after an accounting scandal in 2004 forced it to slash proven reserves. The production has been declining for nearly a decade, but the company expects that amount to more than 10 per cent by 2012.
A new project came into service in the Gulf of Mexico during the quarter and the production of 100,000 barrels per day, while other recent projects on the Russian island of Sakhalin and the Parque das Conchas, Brazil now produces 120 00 barrels per day.
“Shell has replicated the feat of BP, produce results that comfortably beat expectations,” said analyst Keith Bowman of Hargreaves Lansdown in a note on earnings.
“The group seems finally to emerge from its estimate of reserves crisis at the beginning of the millennium.”
Shares rose 0.8 percent to euro23.365 early trading in Amsterdam.
Shell’s earnings were released one day after its largest European rival BP Plc has made a profit of 6.1 billion, and before the largest U.S. company, ExxonMobil Corp., on Thursday.
Shell reported earnings of production were slightly injured by natural gas prices lagging oil prices: just over half the total production of Shell is in the form of gas.
Although output growth has doubled to 4.42 billion dollars.
In refining, profit rose 11 percent to 1.33 billion dollars.
This includes a boost of 584 million increase in the value of stocks, because oil prices have increased between the time it was pumped when he reaches the refineries.
Shell said refining profits would have declined by 26 percent otherwise, reflecting lower contributions and lower margins.
Even so, the division performed better than the fourth quarter of 2009, when it posted a loss of $ 1.76 billion.
Shell plans to sell 15 percent of its refining operations to reduce exposure to the company.
The company plans to reduce costs by 1 billion dollars this year. He said in March it planned to cut 2,000 jobs from its workforce of about 100,000.
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