{"text":[[{"start":8.8,"text":"Shell’s chief said it took a “prudent” approach to trading wild oil price swings triggered by geopolitical upheaval including the war between Israel and Iran, in contrast to rivals that capitalised on market volatility."}],[{"start":25.12,"text":"Chief executive Wael Sawan told the Financial Times that gyrations in the crude market during the second quarter following a surprise production increase from Opec+ and the Israel-Iran conflict were “non-fundamentals based”."}],[{"start":41.028,"text":"“What we decided to do was be much more prudent in our approach there — what we typically call risk off. We just don’t play in that space,” he said, as the company reported second-quarter earnings on Thursday."}],[{"start":56.26,"text":"Shell’s approach contrasts with that of French energy major TotalEnergies, which claimed last week to have successfully navigated the turbulence in the three months to the end of June."}],[{"start":66.794,"text":"“We’ve seen quite a good volatility in the oil price, moving from $60 to $70, then $81, and our traders were really able to capture that during the second quarter. So, congratulations to them,” chief executive Patrick Pouyanné told analysts last week."}],[{"start":85.741,"text":"“[It’s], by the way, not easy for traders to manage geopolitical risk,” he added."}],[{"start":91.28,"text":"Shell posted a 32 per cent fall in adjusted earnings to $4.3bn, from $6.3bn in the same period last year after a 10 per cent fall in oil and LNG prices."}],[{"start":106.08,"text":"“Against a backdrop of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, we saw knock-on effects on both physical trade flows as well as commodity prices and margins more broadly,” said Sawan."}],[{"start":118.32,"text":"The result was above analysts’ expectations of $3.7bn. However, the figure had been trimmed by about 20 per cent after a weak trading statement at the start of July."}],[{"start":130.72,"text":"Shares rose 2 per cent in late-morning trading in London, as investors digested better than expected results across Shell’s business divisions, except in its gas unit, where trading was hit by weaker prices and lower volatility."}],[{"start":145.675,"text":"Traders typically benefit from price swings but the gas market was calmer in the second quarter in contrast with the start of the year, when cold weather and a lack of renewable energy drove price fluctuations."}],[{"start":148.82,"text":"Sawan said the gas market was “more reflective” of the calmer times before Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, adding that he viewed the last quarter’s performance as the “new normal”."}],[{"start":171.291,"text":"He said Shell would benefit from the EU’s recent commitment to buy $750bn of energy from the US over the next three years, agreed during its trade deal this week."}],[{"start":183.195,"text":"“We are one of the largest players in the Gulf of America so we are producing the leading share of crude, which potentially could find its way to Europe,” he said. He added that Shell was also the world's largest trader of LNG and the leading buyer of US LNG for export."}],[{"start":201.84,"text":"Sawan’s comments come after Shell said last month it had “no intention” of making an offer for rival BP, a statement that prevents it from making an approach for at least six months under UK takeover rules. Instead, Sawan said Shell was focused on sustaining its current level of crude production by doing deals for greater shares of oilfields."}],[{"start":224.608,"text":"“We increased our stake in Ursa, one of the platforms we operate in the Gulf of America, we recently upped our stake in Gato do Mato in Brazil, and we announced the increase in our interest in Bonga, which is deepwater Nigeria,” he said."}],[{"start":239.011,"text":"Shell said it had cut costs by $800mn in the first half, and by $3.9bn since 2022. It intends to maintain its $3.5bn quarterly rate of share buybacks, adding it had paid out more than $3bn for 15 consecutive quarters."}],[{"start":264.64,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftmailbox.cn/album/a_1754012690_7513.mp3"}