(MENAFN) Energy giant Royal Dutch Shell announced registering an 8 percent drop in its annual net profits due to the slump in global oil prices, which resulted in its profits hitting USD15.05 billion in 2014, while its October-December profits plunged 57 percent to USD773 million, Arab News reported.
Shell added that due to this decline in profits, it has decided to speed up with its cuts by slashing spending by more than USD15.0 billion over the next three years,
"The agenda we set out in early 2014 to balance growth and returns has positioned us well for the current oil market downturn. We are taking a prudent approach here and we must be careful not to over-react to the recent fall in oil prices. Shell is taking structured decisions to balance growth and returns," Shell CEO said in the results statement.
The decline in oil prices has resulted in Royal Dutch Shell and Qatar Petroleum deciding last month to halt plans for a petrochemicals project, worth an estimated USD6.5 billion, though that does not mean that the company is stopping its investments in the energy sector as it also signed an agreement with the Iraqi government potentially worth USD11 billion to build a large petrochemicals plant in the country's south.
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