Shell and BP beat earnings forecasts as oil majors adapt to low prices

By Ron Bousso and Karolin Schaps LONDON (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell and BP on Tuesday joined peers in reporting higher than expected earnings by making further deep cuts in spending to cope with an oil price downturn now in its third year. Shell's stock rose by over 3 percent as it announced higher quarterly earnings than arch-rival U.S. Exxon Mobil, the world's largest listed oil company by output. Shell's Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said the oil sector had yet to emerge from trou