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After five weeks of being whiplashed by financial market fears, crude reconnected with its own fundamentals over March 12-16, only to become locked in a narrow price band, with WTI anchored at $60/barrel and Brent at $65. Predictions of ballooning non-OPEC oil supplies were counter-balanced by reiterations of confidence in strong global oil demand growth this year, depriving the market of any incentive to either go long or short.
The limbo could prove to be short-lived. As the week came to a close, Iran and the fate of its nuclear deal had moved to the top of news headlines. The sudden departure of Rex Tillerson, a moderate on Iran, and his replacement as US secretary of state by the more hawkish CIA director Mike Pompeo, could precipitate a clash between the two countries over the 2015 multilateral nuclear deal. The fate of the Iran nuclear deal is now a cliffhanger and likely to inject a fear premium in crude over the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, anxiety over the possible outbreak of trade wars, especially between the US and China, as well as the US and its partners in the precarious North American Free Trade Agreement — Canada and Mexico — could continue to rattle the financial markets. The fears come on top of lingering uncertainty over the course of US inflation rates and monetary policy. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point at its next meeting March 20-21.
Myriad concerns rippling through the financial markets since the start of February ultimately converge to hang a question-mark over the presumed strong and synchronous global economic growth this year. They have rattled equity markets across the world and are likely to continue buffeting crude as well. A deceleration in the global economic growth would not bode well for the health of oil demand.
The oil market’s focus this week was primarily on OECD inventory data and outlook for global oil supply and demand balances. The closely-watched monthly oil market reports from OPEC and the International Energy Agency released on Wednesday and Thursday respectively were remarkably similar in tone and almost evenly split between the bullish and bearish elements on the horizon. The weekly US stocks data also pulled market sentiment in opposite directions, showing a major build in crude inventories and a plunge in gasoline and distillate stocks for the week ended March 9.
The OPEC and IEA reports lent further credence to expectations of a shale renaissance in 2018, given their projections of US crude production vaulting by 1 million b/d or more this year, way higher than the growth recorded in 2017. The market is once again paying attention to the weekly US rig count data after mostly ignoring it through the latter half of last year, once the shale growth trajectory had become clear. The rig numbers are not a good proxy for US crude production rates, but a useful input for market participants continuously trying to assess or validate their assessment of shale’s growth.
Unfortunately, the rig count is also not telling a coherent story yet. Baker Hughes reported a drop of four in the number of oil rigs operating in the US in the week ended March 9 to a total of 796, reversing six successive weeks of increases, and leaving the market guessing on what the trend might be.
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On 10 December 2021, if all goes to plan Royal Dutch Shell will become just Shell. The energy supermajor will move its headquarters from The Hague in The Netherlands to London, UK. At least three-quarters of the company’s shareholders must vote in favour of the change at the upcoming general meeting, which has been sold by Shell as a means of simplifying its corporate structure and better return value to shareholders, as well as be ‘better positioned to seize opportunities and play a leading role in the energy transition’. In doing so, it will no longer meet Dutch conditions for ‘royal’ designation, dropping a moniker that has defined the company through decades of evolution since 1907.
But why this and why now?
There is a complex web of reasons why, some internal and some external but the ultimate reason boils down to improving growth sustainability. Royal Dutch Shell was born through the merger of Shell Transport and Trading Company (based in the UK) and Royal Dutch (based in The Netherlands) in 1907, with both companies engaging in exploration activities ranging from seashells to crude oil. Unified across international borders, Royal Dutch Shell emerged as Europe’s answer to John D Rockefeller’s Standard Oil empire, as the race to exploit oil (and later natural gas) reserves spilled out over the world. Along the way, Royal Dutch Shell chalked up a number of achievements including establishing the iconic Brent field in the North Sea to striking the first commercial oil in Nigeria. Unlike Standard Oil which was dissolved into 34 smaller companies in 1911, Royal Dutch Shell remained intact, operating as two entities until 2005, when they were finally combined in a dual-nationality structure: incorporated in the UK, but residing in the Netherlands. This managed to satisfy the national claims both countries make on the supermajor, second only to ExxonMobil in revenue and profits but proved to be costly to maintain. In 2020, fellow Anglo-Dutch conglomerate Unilever also ditched its dual structure, opting to be based fully out of the City of London. In that sense, Shell is following the direction of the wind, as forces in its (soon to be former) home country turn sour.
There is a specific grievance that Royal Dutch Shell has with the Dutch government, the 15% dividend tax collected for Dutch-domiciled companies. It is the reason why Unilever abandoned Rotterdam and is now the reason why Shell is abandoning The Hague. And this point is particularly existentialist for Shell, since its share prices has been battered in recent years following the industry downturn since 2015, the global pandemic and being in the crosshairs of climate change activists as an emblem of why the world’s average temperatures are going haywire. The latter has already caused the largest Dutch state pension fund ABP to stop investing in fossil fuels, thereby divesting itself of Royal Dutch Shell. This was largely a symbolic move, but as religious figures will know, symbols themselves carry much power. To combat this, Shell has done two things. First, it has positioned itself to be at the forefront of energy transition, announcing ambitious emissions reductions plans in line with its European counterparts to become carbon neutral by 2050. Second, it is looking to bump up its dividend payouts after slashing them through the depths of the Covid-19 pandemic and accelerating share buybacks to remain the bluest of blue-chip stocks. But then, earlier this year, a Dutch court ruled that Shell’s emissions targets were ‘not ambitious enough’, ordering a stricter aim within a tighter timeframe. And the 15% dividend tax remains – even though Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s coalition government has been attempting to scrap it, with (it is presumed) some lobbying from Royal Dutch Shell and Unilever.
As simplistic it is to think that Shell is leaving for London believes the citizens of the Netherlands has turned its back on the company, the ultimate reason was the dividend tax. Reportedly, CEO Ben van Buerden called up Mark Rutte on Sunday informing him of the planned move. Rutte’s reaction, it is said was of dismay. And he embarked on a last-ditch effort to persuade Royal Dutch Shell to change its mind, by immediately lobbying his government’s coalition partners to back an abolition of the dividend tax. The reaction was perhaps not what he expected, with left-wing and green parties calling Shell’s threat ‘blackmail’. With democracy drawing a line, Shell decided to walk; or at least present an exit plan endorsed by its Board to be voted by shareholders. Many in the Netherlands see Shell’s exit and the loss of the moniker Royal Dutch – as a blow to national pride, especially since the country has been basking in the glow of expanded reputation as a result of post-Brexit migration of financial activities to Amsterdam from London. The UK, on the other hand, sees Shell’s decision and Unilever’s – as an endorsement of the country’s post-Brexit potential.
The move, if passed and in its initial stages, will be mainly structural, transferring the tax residence of Shell to London. Just ten top executives including van Buerden and CFO Jessica Uhl will be making the move to London. Three major arms – Projects and Technology, Global Upstream and Integrated Gas and Renewable Energies – will remain in The Hague. As will Shell’s massive physical reach on Dutch soil: the huge integrated refinery in Pernis, the biofuels hub in Rotterdam, the country’s first offshore wind farm and the mammoth Porthos carbon capture project that will funnel emissions from Rotterdam to be stored in empty North Sea gas fields. And Shell’s troubles with activists will still continue. British climate change activists are as, if not more aggressive as their Dutch counterpart, this being the country where Extinction Rebellion was born. Perhaps more of a threat is activist investor Third Point, which recently acquired a chunk of Shell shares and has been advocating splitting the company into two – a legacy business for fossil fuels and a futures-focused business for renewables.
So Shell’s business remains, even though its address has changed. In the grand scheme of things, never mind the small matter of Dutch national pride – Royal Dutch Shell’s roadmap to remain an investment icon and a major driver of energy transition will continue in its current form. This is a quibble about money or rather, tax – that will have little to no impact on Shell’s operations or on its ambitions. Royal Dutch Shell is poised to become just Shell. Different name and a different house, but the same contents. Unless, of course, Queen Elizabeth II decides to provide royal assent, in which case, Shell might one day become Royal British Shell.
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