Higher output and demand for refined products have helped Royal Dutch Shell top analysts' expectations on its third-quarter earnings.
But the company warned the impact of a ban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico would hit its bottom line for at least two years.
Net profit of US$3.46 billion (Dh12.7bn) was up from $3.25bn in the third quarter of last year. Revenues rose to $90.7bn from $75bn, the company said yesterday.
The results show how the company is reaping the rewards of a long restructuring focused on cost efficiency and recovering industrial demand, primarily in Asia.
"Our results have rebounded substantially from year-ago levels, with improved earnings and cash flow, underpinned by a 5 per cent increase in oil and gas production," said the chief executive Peter Voser.
"This is a better performance from Shell, achieved despite continued difficult industry conditions in refining and natural gas markets."
Shell has booked charges of $115 million to date after idling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and expects further losses in the fourth quarter, the chief financial officer Simon Henry said yesterday.
Daily output from the region, which accounts for about a third of Shell's total production in the Americas, will be 40,000 barrels next year, less than forecast.
"The moratorium and the delay to our drilling programme is an opportunity lost," Mr Henry said.
This month, the US interior department issued new safety regulations and lifted the moratorium put in place after BP's Macondo well disaster.
Shell pumped the equivalent of 230,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in the first nine months of the year in the Gulf of Mexico, about 10,000 (bpd) less than would have been the case without the ban.
"There could be a further impact in 2012," Mr Henry said.
Shell is the first of Europe's biggest oil companies to report earnings this quarter. It was followed by Eni, Italy's largest energy producer, which reported a 48 per cent rise in adjusted net income to €1.7bn (Dh8.67bn) due to higher oil prices. Total is due to post results today and BP on November 2.
Shell said stripping out one-off items in both years, earnings would have risen 88 per cent to $4.93bn from $2.62bn. That beat the $4.3bn mean estimate of 18 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Net income rose to $3.46bn from $3.25bn a year earlier, Shell said.
The company produced 3.06 million barrels of oil and equivalents per day (boepd) in the third quarter, up 5 per cent from 2.91 million boepd in the same period a year ago, as the fifth of 13 production projects it plans to open this year and next came on line.
"This is an excellent set of results," said Peter Hutton, the head of research at NCB Stockbrokersin London. "It more than delivers on the expectation of momentum."
Shell is focusing on rock formations in Australia, the US and China, and projects in Qatar.
Third-quarter production rose 5 per cent to 3.058 million boepd from 2.917 million barrels a year earlier.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) sales volumes increased to 4.26 million tonnes, with Shell citing "major contributions" from the Sakhalin II LNG project in Russia and Nigeria LNG.
Shell's Class A shares traded in London rose 0.9 per cent to 1,994.5 pence yesterday morning. The stock is up 6.3 per cent this year.
Oil futures averaged $76.21 a barrel in the quarter, a 12 per cent increase from the same period last year, and natural gas futures rose 23 per cent.
* with Bloomberg, AP and Dow Jones
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
New process leads to panic among jobseekers
As a UAE-based travel agent who processes tourist visas from the Philippines, Jennifer Pacia Gado is fielding a lot of calls from concerned travellers just now. And they are all asking the same question.
“My clients are mostly Filipinos, and they [all want to know] about good conduct certificates,” says the 34-year-old Filipina, who has lived in the UAE for five years.
Ms Gado contacted the Philippines Embassy to get more information on the certificate so she can share it with her clients. She says many are worried about the process and associated costs – which could be as high as Dh500 to obtain and attest a good conduct certificate from the Philippines for jobseekers already living in the UAE.
“They are worried about this because when they arrive here without the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation] clearance, it is a hassle because it takes time,” she says.
“They need to go first to the embassy to apply for the application of the NBI clearance. After that they have go to the police station [in the UAE] for the fingerprints. And then they will apply for the special power of attorney so that someone can finish the process in the Philippines. So it is a long process and more expensive if you are doing it from here.”
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Who are the Soroptimists?
The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.
The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.
Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Brief scores:
Manchester United 4
Young 13', Mata 28', Lukaku 42', Rashford 82'
Fulham 1
Kamara 67' (pen),
Red card: Anguissa (68')
Man of the match: Juan Mata (Man Utd)
U19 World Cup in South Africa
Group A: India, Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka
Group B: Australia, England, Nigeria, West Indies
Group C: Bangladesh, Pakistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe
Group D: Afghanistan, Canada, South Africa, UAE
UAE fixtures
Saturday, January 18, v Canada
Wednesday, January 22, v Afghanistan
Saturday, January 25, v South Africa
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Vriitya Aravind, Deshan Chethyia, Mohammed Farazuddin, Jonathan Figy, Osama Hassan, Karthik Meiyappan, Rishabh Mukherjee, Ali Naseer, Wasi Shah, Alishan Sharafu, Sanchit Sharma, Kai Smith, Akasha Tahir, Ansh Tandon
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 285bhp
Torque: 353Nm
Price: TBA
On sale: Q2, 2020
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books