Margins for refining crude oil into usable products fell to $5.50 (29%) per barrel last quarter. Its American competitor Exxon Mobil warned last week that falling oil prices and shrinking refining margins would weigh on third-quarter profits by $1.6 billion.
The price of a barrel of Brent fell 17% in the third quarter due to growing concerns about the weakness of the Chinese economy, the world’s largest oil importer. During the first week of October, however, oil prices experienced a strong recovery due to growing tensions linked to the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
Shell will announce the full quarterly figures on October 31.
In the second quarter, the group recorded a profit higher than that achieved a year earlier and a share buyback program worth $3.5 billion was announced. CEO Wael Sawan had indicated that Shell would continue to buy back its own shares to reward shareholders.
We could also learn the number of jobs cut by the oil company. The Reuters news agency reported at the end of August that Shell wanted to massively reduce its workforce within its oil and gas production division. This reorganization would result in the loss of hundreds of jobs around the world.
Related News :