Shell PLC

Welcome to Shell's second quarter 2026 financial results announcement. Shell CEO Wael Sawan and CFO Sinead Gorman will present the results, then host a Q&A session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star 1. If you wish to be removed from the queue, please press star 2. We will now begin the presentation.

Welcome everyone and thank you for joining. Today Sinead and I will present Shell's second quarter 2026 results. In Q2, Shell delivered very strong results driven by strong operational performance across our businesses. That performance reflects our relentless focus on execution, which enabled us to provide the critical energy our customers needed when it mattered. In integrated gas, strong performance across our global portfolio helped to offset some of the lost LNG volumes from Qatar. Take our LNG Canada joint venture, for example. This is a greenfield project that shipped its first cargo just a year ago, and it has already delivered more than 100 cargoes and achieved full capacity this quarter. In Upstream, our continued focus on performance also unlocked additional production this quarter. We continue to optimize and deliver turnarounds ahead of schedule, enabling performance such as in Brazil, where we delivered another quarter of record production. Our Pennsylvania petrochemicals complex also delivered its best performance to date and our refineries achieved a record 102% utilization in a high margin period. Our refineries have responded to what the market needs, shifting production towards middle distillates like jet fuel, capturing more value from our assets. These kinds of value-based decisions make a difference at a time when global energy flows are under pressure. And behind them sits an important structural strength, Shell's integrated model. The connectivity across our value chains creates the opportunities to optimize assets, product flows, and market exposures from well to wheel. And as we remained responsive to the fast-changing conditions, we also have kept a clear focus on delivering our strategy and commitments. Structural cost reductions are progressing well, with $700 million delivered so far in 2026. Savings that are driven by changing the way we work across our organization, including operational efficiencies and a leaner, fit-for-purpose corporate center. And the high grading of our portfolio has now delivered savings of close to $6 billion since 2022. We also continue to access long-term growth and strengthen our portfolio. Our acquisition of ARK resources has won overwhelming support from ARK's shareholders and we're now awaiting final regulatory approval. The ARK deal accelerates our strategy by sustaining material liquids production and growing our integrated gas business, lifting our expected production growth to 2030 from around 1% a year to some 4% compared with 2025. We have also signed contracts to operate the offshore Lorraine gas field in Venezuela. And in Namibia, we continued to create optionality having drilled our most promising exploration well to date. At the same time, in Upstream, we have agreed to sell our non-operated working interest in Nakika in the Gulf of America, an asset that secured attractive value as it nears the end of its life. Taken together, this is high grading in action, releasing value from assets where we are no longer the natural owner and reinvesting it in the next generation of competitively positioned supply. We also recently announced the divestment of spring energy in India, high grading our power portfolio. and in marketing we completed the divestment of the US Jiffy Lube network and announced the divestment of our South African mobility sites as part of repositioning the portfolio around our key markets. So, while performing through today's volatility, we maintained discipline and kept up the momentum on our strategic delivery. and with that let me hand over to Sinead who will provide more details on our Q2 financial performance.

Thank you Wael. In Q2 we delivered a very strong set of results. Adjusted earnings for the quarter were $9.8 billion and we generated over $21 billion of cash flow from operations despite the ongoing disruptions in the Middle East. Strong operational performance across our segments provided the foundation for our delivery this quarter. In addition to this, LNG trading and optimisation was able to capture significant additional value compared with last quarter. And I was especially pleased to see the chemicals results this quarter with a positive free cash flow contribution. The hard work the team is putting into the transformation is starting to pay off and combined with a more favourable margin environment this quarter's results represents the best we have seen in over five years. But there is much more to do. Now turning to our financial framework. Our cash capex outlook of $24 to $26 billion for 2026 is unchanged. This includes some $4 billion for the ARC resources acquisition and associated cash capex. In Q2, we reduced net debt to some $42 billion, or $12 billion excluding leases. And today, we have announced $3 billion of share buybacks, which we expect to complete by our Q3 results announcement in October. In addition to this new programme, we will also complete the portion of the previous buyback programme that was halted due to regulatory restrictions associated with the ARC transaction. In summary, this quarter we performed extremely well, despite continued disruptions, we made significant progress across the portfolio and we further strengthened our balance sheet, whilst remaining focused on growing long-term value. And with that, let me hand back to Wael to close.