By Andrew Callus
LONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Anglo-Dutch oil company Royal
Dutch/Shell pledged an ambitious 4.7 percent increase
in its quarterly dividend on Thursday and pushed ahead with
plans to deliver more oil and gas, despite an “uncertain”
outlook for some parts of the world economy.
The company was delivering profits that undershot
expectations at $5.582 billion for the fourth quarter on an
addusted current cost of supply basis, up from $4.846 billion a
year ago thanks in part to stronger refining margins, but
compared with expectations of around $6.2 billion.
However, analysts have said its strong cashflow outlook for
the years ahead justify a higher payout.
The company pledged a net $33 billion of capital spending
for next year, some of which will go into controversial places
like Nigeria, where a Dutch court this week found its local
subsidiary partly responsible for pollution, and into the
Arctic, where it suffered a series of accidents last year that
have raised new questions about the safety of offshore drilling
there.
Shell said it would keep investing despite “headwinds” and
despite an “uncertain” economic outlook in some of its markets.
Shell has a strong flow of new projects coming on stream in
the coming years to support the higher dividend.
It plans to deliver $175-$200 billion of total cash flow
from operations for 2012-2015 and a net capital spending
programme of $120-$130 billion.
“Shell’s efforts to expand its pipeline of potential energy
projects are paying off,” said Chief Executive Peter Voser. “Our
drive to increase our options for future projects means that we
are more constrained by limits on capital than by limits on
opportunities.”
Looking further ahead though, the world number two and its
peers are under pressure as the costs of finding and producing
new resources rise towards a static oil price, and globally, the
oil sector was a relatively poor performer in 2012.
