Shell joins with BG

Baku. 15 February. REPORT.AZ/ The mega-deal - creating the biggest trader of liquefied natural gas - came into force on Monday after shareholders waved through the tie-up at the end of January.

Report informs citing the RIA Novosti, chief executive Ben Van Beurden said it marked an "important moment for Shell", which would bolster its cash flow and "significantly boost" its reserves and production.

The impact of the deal - coupled with the low oil price - will lead to 10,000 job losses, with Shell already cutting 7,500 staff, while a further 2,500 positions are expected to be lost now the deal is complete. Shell also looks set to offload 30 billion dollars (£20.6 billion) of assets.

Mr Van Beurden said: "We have acquired productive oil and gas projects in Brazil and Australia and other key countries.

"We will now be able to shape a simpler, leaner, more competitive company, focusing on our core expertise in deep water and LNG."

Shell's shares fell by just under 1% in early trading.

Shell described the takeover of BG as a "new chapter" earlier this month when it announced an 80% plunge in annual profits triggered by the tumbling oil price.

There have been concerns over the rationale for the deal following the recent hefty falls in oil prices due to over-supply and falling demand as the world economy slows.