Shell culling 6,500 jobs, raising spending cuts to weather low oil prices

London

ROYAL Dutch Shell is to axe 6,500 jobs this year and step up spending cuts to deal with an extended period of lower oil prices which contributed to a 37 per cent drop in the oil and gas group's second-quarter profits.

The Anglo-Dutch company also said that it was planning more asset disposals as it pushes ahead with its proposed US$70 billion acquisition of BG Group, taking total asset sales between 2014 and 2018 to US$50 billion.

"We have to be resilient in a world where oil prices remain low for some time, whilst keeping an ey…