Royal Dutch Shell will cut 6,500 jobs in 2015, while its plans to scale down its investments by $7 billion from last year to 'reshape' the company because of the negative impact of low oil prices, the company said Thursday.
'We have to be resilient in a world where oil prices remain low for some time, whilst keeping an eye on recovery,' the Anglo-Dutch group's CEO Ben van Beurden said.
The oil giant plans to continue its cost reduction and spending measures next year, while it expects a $4 billion operation cost decrease this year.
'We're taking a prudent approach, pulling on powerful financial levers to manage through this downturn, always making sure we have the capacity to pay attractive dividends for shareholders,' he added.
Earlier this year, Shell bought the BG group, a gas producer company, for $70 billion in one of the largest acquisitions in the oil industry, as the company says the joint synergy 'enhances Shell’s dividend potential in any expected oil price environment.'
The contraction in oil prices, down to $53 from last year's high of $115, hit oil companies hard and forced them to take dramatic measures.
Shell's 2015 second quarter results, announced also on Thursday, show a 25 percent decrease in its income to $3.9 billion compared to the same period last year with $5.3 billion.
Its profits from upstream operations fell by 78 percent, while the company in downstream and refining margins more than doubled its profits from $1.3 billion to $3 billion.
Beurden estimates that the downturn in oil prices will last for several years, but in the medium term, prices will increase to around $70-$90 per barrel.
By Furkan Naci Top
Anadolu Agency
furkan.top@aa.com.tr