Shell Results Slip 63.6%; Standard Oil Falls 85%

Shell Oil, the nation’s seventh-largest oil company, reported that its third-quarter earnings fell by 63.6%, while 12th-largest Standard Oil said its profits dropped 85%.

Diamond Shamrock of Dallas, a smaller oil concern, reported a sharp quarterly loss after posting a profit a year earlier.

All three companies indicated that the plunge in world oil prices had contributed heavily to their earnings declines.

Shell, based in Houston and owned by the Royal Dutch-Shell Group of Amsterdam, said it earned $133 million on revenue of $4 billion. That was down from $365 million on revenue of $5.1 billion in the third quarter of 1985.

“Strong performances in our oil products and chemical products businesses partly offset a decline in exploration and production earnings that reflected sharply lower crude oil and natural gas prices,” President John F. Bookout said.

Third-quarter oil and gas exploration and production earnings of $25 million were down from $357 million in the 1985 period, he said.

In Cleveland, Standard Oil said it earned $52 million on sales of $2.2 billion, compared to $346 million on revenue of $3.4 billion in the corresponding 1985 quarter. The company was formerly called Standard Oil Co. (Ohio) and is 55.5% owned by British Petroleum.

Commenting on the results, Chairman Robert B. Horton said that Alaskan crude oil sales prices averaged $10.65 per barrel for the company in the third quarter, compared to $26.45 per barrel in the same period last year.

During the first nine months of 1986, the company said it spent $1.4 billion on capital expenditures and exploration, down from $2.1 billion for the first nine months of last year. The 1985 figure included capital spending of $340 million for the purchase of Gulf’s refining and marketing operations.

In Dallas, Diamond Shamrock said it lost $97.9 million on $563.3 million in third-quarter revenue, compared to a profit of $52.8 million on $871.2 million in revenue for the year-ago quarter. The company said its quarterly report was affected by writedowns of $90.5 million for domestic oil and gas properties.