Majors' Solid Results

摘要

Majors' LNG sales volumes were generally robust in this year's first quarter despite the lower oil price which averaged $54 per barrel, half the $108/bbl price of the same quarter in 2014. As most LNG contracts are oil-indexed, management teams acknowledged that LNG earnings did not fully reflect the drop in oil prices, as there is a lag in the oil price link of about six months. Royal Dutch Shell's results were dominated by its $82 billion offer for BG Group, as the deal will take Shell's current 26 million metric tons per year of liquefaction capacity to 33 million tons/yr (WGI Apr. 15' 15). The Anglo-Dutch major's LNG sales volume in the first quarter were up 1% year-on-year, to 6.17 million tons, due to better operational performance that partly offset the impact of the 2014 reduction of its stake in Australia's Woodside from 23.1% to 13.6% (EIF Aug.6'14). Shell integrated gas earnings were $1.15 billion, down 65%, due to maintenance at its Pearl GTL plant.