Shell Expects at Best Steady Fuel Sales for First Quarter

By Shadia Nasralla

Shell said it saw refined oil product sales at 3.7-4.7 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first quarter compared with just under 4.8 million bpd in the last quarter of 2020.

Shell’s refining margins have improved to around $2.6 per barrel in the quarter from $1.6 in the previous quarter.

In liquefied natural gas business (LNG) trading, where it is a global leader, Shell said it expected results to be “significantly below average”.

Shell sees its first-quarter LNG production at 7.8-8.4 million tonnes, compared with 8.2 million in the previous quarter.

Total upstream production was expected to rise to 2.4-2.48 million barrel of oil equivalent from 2.37 million in the fourth quarter of 2020.

An extreme cold snap in Texas is expected to have shrunk its output by 10,000-20,000 bpd and to shave up to $200 million from its adjusted first-quarter earnings, due to be reported on April 29.

Benchmark crude prices in the first quarter rose around 24% and were trading near $63 a barrel on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla; Editing by Andrew Heavens)