Shell's Trading Volume Surges 41.56% to 9.15 Billion, Ranked 170th Despite Stock Price Decline

On April 7, 2025, Shell's trading volume reached 9.15 billion, marking a 41.56% increase from the previous day, placing it 170th in the day's stock market rankings. However, Shell's stock price fell by 2.82%, marking the fifth consecutive day of decline, with a total decrease of 14.96% over the past five days.

Shell has revised its first-quarter production outlook for its integrated gas division, lowering it to 910,000-950,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day from the previous 930,000-990,000 boed. This adjustment was influenced by unplanned maintenance, primarily in Australia, and the impact of cyclones.

The company's liquefied natural gas (LNG) production for the first quarter of 2025 is now projected to be between 6.4 million and 6.8 million metric tons, down from the earlier guidance of 6.6 million to 7.2 million metric tons. This revision reflects the challenges posed by cyclones and unexpected maintenance activities in Australia.

In addition to the LNG production cuts, Shell has also adjusted its upstream production outlook to approximately 1,790-1,890 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day, up from the previous range of 1,750-1,950 thousand boe/d. This adjustment reflects the completion of the SPDC divestment in March 2025.

Shell anticipates a share of profit or loss from joint ventures and associates of around $200 million and exploration well write-offs of approximately $0.1 billion in the first quarter. The company also expects marketing sales volumes to be around 2,500-2,900 thousand barrels per day, reflecting a lower contribution from Sectors & Decarbonisation.

Refinery utilization is projected to be around 83-87%, and chemical manufacturing plant utilization is expected to be between 79-83%. The company also anticipates that Trading & Optimisation will be significantly higher than the fourth quarter of FY24 in the Chemicals and Products segment.

Shell has disclosed plans to increase shareholder distributions from 30-40% to 40-50% of cash flow from operations throughout economic cycles. The company has also raised its structural cost reduction target from $2-3 billion by the end of 2025 to a cumulative $5-7 billion by 2028, based on 2022 levels.