In 2017, we presented our strategy: always safe, high value, low carbon. We set clear ambitions for the future, and we have delivered above and beyond our ambitious targets. We are now a stronger, more resilient and more competitive company.

The safety of our people and integrity of our operations remains our top priority. Over the past decade we have steadily improved our safety results, and in 2017, our serious incident frequency came in at 0.6. We will use this as inspiration and continue our efforts. 

We must always be prepared for volatility in our markets. Our improvement work started when prices were still high, and we have used the downturn to reset the company, reducing the break-even price of our next generation portfolio to USD 21 per barrel.

Last year we said we would be cash flow positive at USD 50 per barrel in 2017, but we were actually cash flow positive well below USD 50, and we tripled our adjusted earnings to USD 12.6 billion. 

We believe the winners in the energy transition will be those who can deliver at low cost and with low carbon emissions. We believe there are attractive business opportunities in the transition to a low-carbon economy, and we continue to build a material industrial position in new energy solutions.

In the autumn of 2017 we started production from Dudgeon, and the floating windfarm Hywind. Today, we operate three offshore wind projects in the UK, delivering competitive returns. 

We believe we are well prepared to deal with the current market situation and have the expertise, capacity and leadership capabilities necessary to create new business opportunities and long-term value for our shareholders.

We intend to continue our journey from a focused oil and gas to a broad energy company—a journey that’s reflected in the choice of a new name that we hope will resonate with investors, partners and the talents we need to realise our strategy and reach our ambitions.