Vitol, Shell and Exxon are all expected to announce profits in Q1 2021 following a turbulent 2020. The three companies are profiting from increased oil demand and a rise in oil prices, giving analysts hope for a strong year in oil and gas. Shell announced this week that it expects to make its first profit from oil production in the first quarter of 2021 since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company’s upstream unit, which mainly manages crude exploration and production, has gained from the surge in oil prices over the past few months. Shell’s statement comes despite targets being hindered by the winter storm that hit Texas in February, decreasing the company’s production by around 20,000 bpd of oil in the first three months of the year, reducing its expected earnings by around $200 million. Shell was hit hard as oil demand decreased in Q2 of 2020, […]