Shell expecting stable third quarter for marketing

Shell updated the market on its third-quarter outlook on Friday, anticipating a stable period for its marketing division, although it did forecast a corporate adjusted earnings loss.

Notably, the trading and optimisation sector was predicted to experience a surge, surpassing the results of the second quarter.

The company’s integrated gas sector was anticipating production of 880,000 to 920,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (kboe/d) and LNG liquefaction volumes landing between 6.6 to 7.0 million tonnes.

Meanwhile, the underlying operational expenditure was expected to hover between $1.1bn and $1.3bn.

Upstream production was projected to range between 1,700 and 1,800 kboe/d with underlying opex estimated between $2.1bn and and $2.6bn.

The share of profit and loss from joint ventures and associates during the third quarter is anticipated to break even.

An earmarked $0.2bn was set for exploration well write-offs for the same quarter.

Marketing initiatives were set to see sales volumes of 2,450 to 2,850 kb/d and an underlying opex between $2.1bn and $2.5bn.

Shell forecast marketing results that echoed the same quarter from the prior year, indicating stability in their marketing strategies and market response.

In the realm of chemicals and products, Shell signalled an indicative refining margin of $16 per barrel and a chemicals margin of $116 per tonne.

The refinery use was projected between 82% and 86%, while chemical utilisation is estimated between 69%-72%.

Operational expenses are projected to lie between $2.8bn and $3.2bn, while the trading and optimization sector is expected to see a rise compared to the second quarter.

In renewables and energy solutions, Shell was expecting adjusted earnings to range from -$0.3bn to $0.3bn.

On the corporate front, adjusted earnings were projected to be between -$0.6bn to -$0.4bn.

At -952 BST, shares in Shell were up 1.03% at 2,558.5p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.