by Emily Gosden / The Telegraph

Outgoing Shell chief executive Peter Voser called the fall in second quarter profits ‘disappointing’. Photo: GETTY
Royal Dutch Shell profits dropped 60pc to $2.4bn (£1.6bn) in the second quarter after drilling of its shale oil assets in North America showed they were worth $2.1bn less than it had thought. Excluding the impact of the big one-off writedown, profits still fell 20pc to $4.6bn, a result chief executive Peter Voser admitted was “clearly disappointing” and blamed in part on the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria.
Shell also continued to play down the prospects for shale gas in the UK and said recent controversy over fracking showed it was right not to get involved.
The Anglo-Dutch giant, which saw shares fall more than 4pc, said it would begin a major divestment programme, exceeding the $21bn it has sold in the last three years.
It plans to sell small US shale oil fields that it is not interested in developing, and onshore Nigerian oil assets where it is struggling to stem sabotage and theft.