* Q1 fuel sales seen at 3.7-4.7 mln bpd
* LNG trading results to be below average
* Q1 results due April 29
(Adds refinery runs, previous forecasts)
By Shadia Nasralla
LONDON, April 7 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell
expects its fuel sales to fall or at best be broadly steady for
the first quarter, the world's biggest fuel retailer said on
Wednesday, indicating fuel demand recovery has remained slow
amid coronavirus restrictions.
In a trading update, Shell said it saw refined oil product
sales at 3.7-4.7 million barrels per day (bpd) for the first
quarter compared with just under 4.8 million bpd in the last
quarter of 2020. It had previously forecast sales of 4-5 million
bpd.
Refinery utilisation rates in the quarter stood at 71%-75%,
compared with a forecast of 73%-81%.
Shell's refining margins have improved to around $2.6 per
barrel in the quarter from $1.6 in the previous quarter.
In gas, Shell said it expected trading results to be
"significantly below average".
Shell sees its first-quarter liquefied natural gas (LNG)
production at 7.8-8.4 million tonnes, compared with 8.2 million
in the previous quarter and a forecast of 8-8.6 million tonnes.
Total upstream production was expected to rise to 2.4-2.48
million barrel of oil equivalent, at the lower end of the
forecasted range, from 2.37 million in the fourth quarter of
2020.
An extreme cold snap in Texas is expected to have shrunk its
output by 10,000-20,000 bpd and to shave up to $200 million from
its adjusted first-quarter earnings, due to be reported on April
29.
Benchmark crude prices in the first quarter rose
around 24% and were trading near $63 a barrel on Wednesday.
(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla; editing by Andrew Heavens)
