FT reports that Shell CEO prefers to buy back shares over a bid for BP

The Financial Times reported that Shell's CEO, John Watson, said on Friday he preferred to buy back shares of his own company than make a bid for rival oil giant BP.

"We'll always be looking at these things but you also look to see what the alternatives are." Wael Sawan, a Financial Times reporter, said that buying Shell back for us is the best alternative at the moment.

The report stated that Shell was persistently linked with a bid to acquire its smaller rival BP, as this company lost over 30% of its value during the last 12 months.

Shell announced strong results for the first quarter, surpassing expectations. They also launched a $3.5 Billion share buyback.

Shell's buyback program has been at least $3 billion for the past 14 quarters. BP cut back on its buybacks to improve its balance sheet and regain investor confidence.

Shell shares were up 2.3% to 2,492.5 pence at 1156 GMT while BP shares were down 0.6%.

(source: Reuters)