(Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc said its oil trading unit, which helped the energy giant avoid a loss in the second quarter of this year, will post a weaker performance this time around.

The Anglo-Dutch major, alongside its peers, is coming to the end of a tumultuous year. Its finances have been pummeled as the coronavirus pandemic decimated oil and gas demand, and fuel sales volumes remain weak. The latest figures show the pain is not yet over for the company.

Fourth-quarter trading results in the oil-product division will be “significantly lower compared with the third quarter,” Shell said in a statement on Monday, estimating sales volumes of 4 million to 5 million barrels a day. “Significant derivatives-related outflows” affected cash flow from operations in the period.

Upstream production will be between 2.28 million and 2.35 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, and adjusted earnings from that business are expected to show a loss, in part reflecting a tax charge of $600 million to $900 million.

The company sees post-tax charges of as much as $4.5 billion in relation to impairments, asset restructuring and “onerous contracts.” Earlier this year, Shell announced a multibillion-dollar writedown at the height of the pandemic. As the crisis roiled the market, Shell was also forced to slash its dividend and plan thousands of employee layoffs. In October, the company said it was expecting severance costs tied to its restructuring of as much as $2 billion.

In its Integrated Gas unit, Shell expects production to increase to between 900,000 and 940,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day this quarter, though trading results will be “below average.” The company sells the bulk of its liquefied natural gas in long-term contracts linked to the price of oil with a lag of up to six months.

Refinery utilization is expected to be higher than in the third quarter, at as much as 76%, while refining margins will be “slightly improved.” However, trading results in that business are forecast to be “significantly lower,” according to the statement.

Shell is scheduled to publish its full fourth-quarter results on Feb. 4.

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