The warning on Shell’s crucial natural gas division, in a fourth-quarter trading update published on Wednesday, was accompanied by figures showing a slight rise in operating expenses across the company and lower profits from buying and selling oil products.
Shares of the company fell 1.2% to 2,587 pence as of 8:01 a.m. in London trading.
It’s the latest sign that 2024 ended on a weak note for the world’s largest energy companies. Late on Tuesday, Shell’s largest rival Exxon Mobil Corp. said its fourth-quarter earnings took a $700 million hit from lower crude prices and narrowing refining margins.
“Trading and optimization results are expected to be significantly lower than the third quarter of 2024, driven by the non-cash impact of expiring hedging contracts” for natural gas, Shell said in a statement.
Natural gas production for the fourth quarter is seen at 880,000 to 920,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, down from 941,000 a day in the third quarter due to maintenance at the Pearl Gas-to-Liquids plant in Qatar, according to the statement. Gas liquefaction volumes are seen between 6.8 million and 7.2 million tons, down from 7.5 million in the prior period.
