LONDON: Royal Dutch Shell plans to put three oil and gas assets in the North Sea up for sale, as it seeks to ramp up disposals and focus on improving shareholder returns after a shock profit-warning.
Like its industry peers, Shell has been facing increasing investor pressure to rein in spending as costs rise and prospects for oil prices wane.
Glen Cayley, the Anglo-Dutch company’s vice-president of its upstream business in Europe, has spoken to staff about the proposed sell-off of its Anasuria, Nelson and Sean platforms in the British part of the North Sea. Together, the assets account for about two percent of Britain’s oil production.
Output from the North Sea basin has been in decline since 1999, raising concerns that the biggest oil companies could turn their backs on it, but Shell said it was committed to the area.
“These changes are very much in line with our strategy and will allow us to shape our future and focus on where we can add value to ensure a long-term future for Shell in the basin,” Cayley said in an emailed statement.
Shell, attempting to win round investors after a major profit warning early this year, in January said it was targeting $15 billion of disposals over the next two years as it tries to deliver more attractive returns to shareholders.
World Bank probes Tata Tea over labour issues
NEW DELHI: The World Bank is probing claims of poor wages and conditions for workers at Indian tea plantations that it finances with tea giant Tata Global Beverages, those involved said yesterday.
The bank’s auditors are looking into plantations in northeastern India run by an $87m partnership between the bank’s private investment branch, Tata, the world’s second largest tea company, and others.
The venture, Amalgamated Plantations Private Limited (AAPL), runs 25 plantations employing 31,000 workers in the states of Assam and some in neighbouring West Bengal. AAPL confirmed the World Bank’s Compliance Advisor Ombudsman was conducting the probe, following a complaint by rights groups 12 months ago.
Agencies
