* Q3 adj. earnings of $4.1 bln below analysts' forecast
* $7 bln Permian shareholder payouts to start next year
* New climate target is absolute, not intensity-based
(Adds detail on cashflow and debt in quarter)
By Shadia Nasralla
LONDON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell set
itself tougher emissions-cutting targets on Thursday as it
reported a lower-than-expected third-quarter profit of $4.13
billion.
The company has pledged to become a net-zero emissions
company by 2050, but is under pressure to make faster progress,
with a Dutch court https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/dutch-court-orders-shell-set-tougher-climate-targets-2021-05-26
ordering it in May to cut all of its emissions - including from
the combustion of its products by customers, or Scope 3 - by 45%
by 2030.
Shell is appealing the court ruling.
The oil major said it would cut absolute emissions from its
operations and the electricity it uses, known as Scope 1 and 2
emissions, by half by 2030 compared with 2016.
It previously set a target to cut the carbon intensity of
its products, meaning emissions by unit of energy produced
rather than in absolute terms, by at least 6% by 2023, 20% by
2030, 45% by 2035 and 100% by 2050, compared to 2016 levels.
HURRICANE HIT
Shell said in September it would distribute $7 billion to
its shareholders from next year after a $9.5 billion deal to
sell its U.S. Permian assets https://www.reuters.com/business/shell-nears-deal-sell-texas-shale-assets-conocophillips-95-bln-wsj-2021-09-20
to ConocoPhillips closes.
Its third-quarter adjusted earnings came in below an average
analyst forecast provided by the company for a $5.31 billion
profit. Earnings were $5.53 billion in the previous quarter and
$955 million a year ago.
Shell earlier this month flagged a $400 million hit to
third-quarter earnings from the damage caused by August's
Hurricane Ida https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/shell-flags-400-mln-hurricane-hit-boost-soaring-prices-2021-10-07
in the United States and a boost to cash flows from soaring
natural gas and electricity prices.
Gas and power prices surged this autumn as tight gas
supplies have collided with strong demand in economies
recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. <LNG-AS>
This helped Shell's cashflow from operations in the quarter
to rise by around 54% on the year to $16 billion, which in turn
helped it to reduce net debt to $57.5 billion, compared with
$65.7 billion in the previous quarter.
Shell's oil and gas production dropped in the third quarter
to 2.08 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) as a
result of the COVID-19 pandemic and hurricanes that forced
offshore platforms to shut down.
Oil production fell 4% from the second quarter to 1.49
million barrels per day, while gas output declined 17% to 3.39
million cubic feet per day.
The company guided for its liquefied natural gas (LNG)
production to rise to 8-8.6 million tonnes in the fourth
quarter.
Shell plans to invest around $20 billion this year, compared
with previous guidance for spending to stay below $22 billion.
(Reporting by Shadia Nasralla; Editing by Jason Neely, Mark
Potter and Barbara Lewis)
