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		</div><p><a href="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/oil-giants-kick-off-results-season.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full" title="Shell is expected to post pre-tax profits of around 18 billion pounds" src="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/min-oil-giants-kick-off-results-season.jpg" alt="Shell is expected to post pre-tax profits of around 18 billion pounds"/></a></p>
<p>Oil majors Royal Dutch Shell and BP will kick off the City&#8217;s annual results season next week, with the latter due to end its current suspension of dividend payments following the Gulf of Mexico disaster.</p>
<p>Embattled oil giant BP will take another step in its rehabilitation on Tuesday if it delivers on current City expectations and reinstates dividend payments alongside the publication of its full-year results.</p>
<p>The return of BP&#8217;s dividend following its suspension in the summer due to the Deepwater Horizon disaster would be a key development for pension holders as well as investors given the stock previously accounted for an estimated one in every six pension pounds invested.</p>
<p>Analysts at Collins Stewart anticipate the quarterly dividend will be around seven cents a share, half the level announced in April.</p>
<p>BP upped its estimate of the bill to cover the cost of the oil spill to 40 billion US dollars (£25 billion) in November, but analysts do not expect this to increase and have latched on to recent signs that only half of the 20 billion US dollar (£12.6 billion) compensation fund will be required.</p>
<p>The financial hit from the oil spill will offset underlying replacement cost profits of 21 billion US dollars (£13.2 billion) for the full year. Fourth quarter profits of around 5 billion US dollars (£3.1 billion) would represent a 15% improvement on a year ago but come in 9% lower than the previous quarter.</p>
<p>The company has been able to benefit from a gradual increase in oil prices over 2010, which hit 90 US dollars a barrel at around the year end. Refining margins have also shown improvement.</p>
<p>But production is likely to be 10% lower than a year earlier due to the impact of the US drilling moratorium and asset disposals following the disaster, while extended maintenance periods will also impact output.</p>
<p>FTSE 100 rival Royal Dutch Shell has had a more sedate year and analysts have forecast pre-tax profits of around 30 billion US dollars (£18 billion), including a year-on-year rise in fourth quarter earnings of 69% to 4.68 billion dollars (£2.9 billion).</p>
<p>The company, which reports on Thursday, has benefited from higher oil prices and a hike in production levels, as well as a 3.5 billion US dollar (£2.2 billion) cost-saving plan, which saw 7,000 jobs go.</p>
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