The oil giant also said it would cut its capital investment and eliminate 6,500 jobs as the drop in oil and gas prices squeezes its vast global exploration and production operations.
Though crude oil prices may recover to $90 per barrel, Royal Dutch Shell said Thursday it was planning for a downturn that could last “several years”.
Van Beurden said Shell is taking a prudent approach through the downturn, making sure it can pay dividends to shareholders.
Shell said it was looking to dispose of some $30bn of assets in the two years following the expected completion of the £47bn BG deal early next year.
Separately on Thursday, Shell said it would sell its one-third stake in Japanese refiner Showa Shell Sekiyu KK to rival Idemitsu for about $1.4 billion.
The company said its operating costs were expected to fall by $4 billion, or around 10 percent, in 2015 as part of a broad efficiency drive to boost its balance sheet. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting $1.01 per share.
He added that the BG deal was “on track” and would pave the way for further cost reduction across the newly created business. This compared with $6.1 billion in the same quarter last year, but did beat analysts’ expectations.
Rig services companies Halliburton and Weatherford worldwide issued dismal second-quarter earnings reports as oil majors trim capital expenses in an era where crude oil prices are far below June 2014 levels, when north of $100 per barrel was typical.
“The sale is consistent with Shell’s strategy to concentrate its downstream footprint on a smaller number of assets and markets where it can be most competitive”, said John Abbott, Shell Downstream Director.
Shell will be cutting 6,500 jobs.
The Shell layoffs are the result of the oil company preparing for the long-term affects of decreased oil prices.
Shell hopes to complete its BG deal by early 2016 and is still awaiting key regulatory approvals from the European Union, China and Australia. Synergies from the transaction should be at least $2.5 billion per year from 2018, said Shell. Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) reported earnings after accounting for adjustments came in at $3.8 billion for the quarter.
Royal Bank Of Scotland gained almost 1 percent after reporting a modest rise in second quarter profits, while asset manager Schroders gained 2 percent after posting forecast-beating first-half profit, helped by strong demand for its fixed income products.
Centrica also suffered from the collapsing oil price, with profits at its oil and gas production division plummeting by 78 per cent to £116m in the second quarter.
