Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden promised to slash capital spending and accelerate asset sales to revive earnings at Europe’s largest oil producer. Shell, which made its first profit warning in a decade this month, dropped targets for cash flow , postponed plans to drill in Alaska and pledged to restructure its shale operations in North America, it said today in a statement. The Hague-based company also raised its dividend. “We have lost some momentum in operational delivery, and we can sharpen up in a number of areas,” van Beurden said in the statement. “2014 will be a year where we are changing emphasis, to improve our returns and cash flow performance.” Van Beurden, who took over from Peter Voser at the start of the year, is trying to win investor confidence after the company’s fourth-quarter profit […]