The head of Shell has said he would accelerate the cost savings expected from its recent £35bn takeover of rival BG Group, as the company reported a near 60 per cent drop in earnings. Ben van Beurden, chief executive of the international oil company, said on Wednesday he would cut spending more quickly than previously predicted, less than three months after the deal went through. This will involve cutting capital spending to $30bn this year, 36 per cent less than the two companies combined spent in 2014, and 10 per cent less than Shell had previously told the market. Mr van Beurden said: “The combination with BG is off to a strong start, as a result of detailed forward planning before the completion of the transaction. This will likely result in accelerated delivery of the synergies from the acquisition and at a lower cost than we originally set out.” The deal has come under fire from some investors, who said Shell should not have been paying so much for BG when the oil price was still collapsing. But Mr van Beurden persuaded the majority of shareholders to back the plan, in part by promising steep cost cuts.