Interview with Shell's Ben van Beurden: A Sharper Focus On The Bottom Line
We also need to ensure that we have the right projects. In 2014 we plan to spend around $35 billion on capital investment, excluding acquisitions; very few companies do the same. People deep in the business must understand how activities will contribute to the bottom line and share this detailed information so we can make the right choices.
In terms of how we run our operations, our priority is, as always, safety. I believe we can do better, and that personal intervention is vital. I will also be focused on the performance of our assets and ensuring there are no leaks. We have made a lot of progress but I still feel we lack a fully proactive culture when it comes to safety and the environment.
Given some shareholder dissatisfaction with return on investment, is it possible that in future Shell might only focus on upstream or downstream activities?
Splitting the company in this way is not on the cards. Integration continues to offer advantages, and now we integrate in a new way. A hundred years ago the only way to dispose of oil was to put it into your own refineries, and the only way to get rid of products was to do your own marketing. This has changed.
Now we’ve moved into technology integrations: for example, at our Pearl gas-to-liquids plant in Qatar it’s hard to differentiate where the upstream technology ends and the downstream technology starts. I see it as the “modern integration”. The same is true in the oil sands and right across our natural gas business. There is a lot of value in an integrated approach that’s not always visible to the outside world but puts us ahead of our competitors.
123456
View Full Article
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.
- Falcon Oil Declares Commercial Flow Test Results for Shenandoah Well
- Macquarie Strategists Expect Brent Oil Price to Grind Higher
- Japan Failing to Meet Corporate Demand for Clean Power: Amazon
- Pennsylvania County Joins List of Local Govts Suing Big Oil over Climate
- UK Oil Regulator Publishes New Emissions Reduction Plan
- PetroChina Posts Higher Annual Profit on Higher Production
- US, SKorea Launch Task Force to Stop Illicit Refined Oil Flows into NKorea
- McDermott Settles Reficar Dispute
- Russian Navy Enters Warship-Crowded Red Sea Amid Houthi Attacks
- USA Commercial Crude Oil Inventories Increase
- New China Climate Chief Says Fossil Fuels Must Keep a Role
- Oil Demand Outpaces Expectations, Testing Calculus on Peak Crude
- House Passes Protecting American Energy Production Act
- TotalEnergies Restarts Production in Denmark's Biggest Gas Field
- USA Oil and Gas Job Figures Jump
- Republican Lawmakers Say IEA Has Abandoned Energy Security Mission
- Blockchain Demands Attention in Oil and Gas
- Houthis Warn Saudi Arabia of Retaliation If It Backs USA Attacks
- Macquarie Sees USA Oil Production Exiting 2024 at 14MM Barrels Per Day
- Summer Pump Prices Set to Hit $4 a Gallon Just as Americans Hit the Road
- New China Climate Chief Says Fossil Fuels Must Keep a Role
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- VIDEO: Missile Attack Kills Crew Transiting Gulf of Aden
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Another Major Oilfield Discovery
- What Is the Biggest Risk to Offshore Oil and Gas Personnel in 2024?
- Vessel Sinks in Red Sea After Missile Strike
- Exxon Rights in Stabroek Do Not Apply to Hess Merger with Chevron: Hess
- Equinor Makes Discovery in North Sea
- Analysts Reveal Latest Oil Price Outlook Following OPEC+ Cut Extension