Oil giant Shell set out a ‘new growth agenda’ on Thursday to drive forward its investment programme and deliver ‘60 new projects and options’ including liquefied natural gas, deep water drilling and shale oil.

The company said in a statement it is planning to invest some €30bn on generating growth this year, of which some 80% will be targeted at exploration.
Shell also announced disappointing fourth quarter earnings of $6.5bn, a drop of 4%. This was due to lower refinery earnings and lower gas prices in North America, the company said.

Demand
‘Economic development in non-OECD countries is driving sustained and long-term demand for all forms of energy,’ Shell said. However, ‘regulatory and political uncertainties, combined with challenges in debt markets, are adding to price and cost volatility in this long-term trend.’
The company also said it expects to be able to pay a higher dividend to investors this year, now its financial position has improved. This is something analysts who follow the company have been keen to see for years, the Financieele Dagblad commented.