Shell’s Q1 LNG sales rise

The Hague-based LNG giant Shell reported a nine per cent rise in its liquefied natural gas sales during the first quarter of this year.

Shell sold 19 million tonnes of LNG in the January-March period, compared to 17.51 million tonnes in the same period last year, the company said on Thursday in its quarterly financial report.

Shell’s LNG sales totaled 20.09 million tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Looking at liquefaction volumes, they rose 2 per cent year-on-year to 8.88 million tonnes but were lower compared to 9.21 million tonnes in the fourth quarter.

Shell said liquefaction volumes were expected to be in the 7.4 – 8.2 million tonnes range for the full year of 2020.

More than 90 per cent of the term contracts for LNG sales are oil price linked with a price lag of typically 3 – 6 months, it said.

Shell’s Integrated Gas segment was hit by lower realised LNG, oil and gas prices.

Revenues for the gas segment dropped 17 per cent to 2.1 billion, excluding charges of $331 million related to impairments, mainly in Brazil and the USA.