Shell PLC on Monday said it expects lower natural gas production and liquified natural gas volumes in the first quarter of 2025 than previously forecast, reflecting unplanned maintenance in Australia and adverse weather.
In a trading update, the London-based oil major said it expects integrated gas production of 910,000 to 950,000 barrels of oil equivalent. That compared with a range of 930,000 to 990,000 in the last quarterly report.
In addition, Shell said LNG production reached between 6.4 million and 6.8 million metric tonnes in the first three months of this year, down from a previous forecast of 6.6 million to 7.2 million tonnes.
Shell is the world’s largest LNG trader and recently said it would look to boost sales of the product by 4% to 5% a year between now and 2030.
Integrated gas production was ‘impacted by unplanned maintenance, including in Australia’, with LNG volumes reflecting ‘weather impact (cyclones) and unplanned maintenance in Australia’.
Shares in Shell were 7.1% lower at 2,306.00 in London on Monday. The wider FTSE 100 was down 4.6%.
Brent crude traded at $62.93 a barrel down from $67.85 at the time of the New York equities close on Friday.
In its Upstream business, Shell sees upstream output of 1.79 million to 1.89 million barrels equivalent a day compared with a previous expectation for 1.75 to 1.95 million. First quarter exploration well write-offs are expected to be around $0.1 billion.
Operating expenses in the division are expected between $2.1 billion to $2.7 billion compared with $2.5 billion in the fourth quarter. Shell expects a tax charge in the division between $2.4 billion to $3.2 billion, compared with $2.6 billion in the prior quarter.
Marketing volumes are projected at 2.5 million to 2.9 million boepd compared with 2.8 million in the fourth quarter. The top-end of guidance was lowered from 3.0 million before.
Mobility & Lubricants results are expected to be in line with the fourth quarter, but the overall marketing result is expected to be impacted by a lower contribution from Sectors & Decarbonisation.
In Chemicals & Products, Shell flagged an indicative refining margin of $6.2 a barrel, up from $5.5 a barrel in the previous quarter. Chemicals sub-segment adjusted earnings are expected to be in line with the prior quarter.
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