OPINION: It should be the dream job to arrive as the new boss and immediately take the plaudits for the biggest profits in a company’s history.

That’s the situation for Wael Sawan who took over as chief executive at Shell on 1 January and four weeks later was able to unveil nearly $40 billion annual net earnings.

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else other than this sector, and specifically in this company, at this point in time,” he had announced on taking over from Ben van Beurden.