Shell signals an end to the oil downturn with return of all-cash payouts

Royal Dutch Shell has signalled the end of the three-year oil market downturn by restarting its all-cash shareholder payouts as its cash flow begins to boom. The oil major began paying out dividends in the form of shares in 2015, in the wake of the oil price crash and its $50bn takeover of BG Group. But chief executive Ben van Beurden said the Anglo-Dutch group was now confident that it could call an end its scrip dividend as its cost-cutting and divestment programme pays off. The leaner business will also enable Shell to double down on its investment in ‘new energies’ including low-carbon fuels and renewable electricity. FULL ARTICLE