Shell B News

Oil Production Impacts in the Middle East

Most western oil and gas majors have significant operations in the Middle East, where the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran has disrupted oil and gas shipping and halted some output.France's TotalEnergies, which has the biggest upstream exposure to the region compared with its global output, has said some 15% of its production is offline due to the war.Here are some details on the majors' production in the Middle East, in alphabetical order:BPBP's oil and gas output in the Middle East in 2025…

Asian Oil Refineries, Petrochemicals Cut Runs as MidEast Conflict Escalates

Several Asian refineries and petrochemical companies were forced to cut runs and declare force majeure as the U.S.-Israel war on Iran disrupted crude and feedstock exports from the Middle East.Asian steam crackers, which source more than 60% of their naphtha feedstock from the Middle East, have been quick to declare force majeure on petrochemical supplies to customers.Three operators told Reuters they are curtailing run rates to roll over some of their feedstock into next month…

Due Diligence Required as More Biofuel Feedstocks Used

NorthStandard has published a new white paper focusing on the accelerating adoption of biofuels in commercial shipping. ‘Biofuels – Driving the green transition’ brings together insights from NorthStandard, supplier World Fuel and leading testing agency Veritas Petroleum Services (VPS), in a unique discussion document outlining biofuel uptake, potential issues and loss prevention measures. Many owner-operators who seek a drop-in solution to drive maritime decarbonization choose biofuel blends.

Shell, METLEN Sign LNG Supply and Trading Deal

Shell and Greece’s METLEN have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a framework for cooperation in the supply and trading of liquefied natural gas (LNG).Under the agreement, the two companies plan to supply and trade approximately 0.5 to 1.0 billion cubic metres (bcm) of LNG per year over the five-year period from 2027 to 2031.Deliveries are expected to be made to the Greek LNG regasification terminals at Revithoussa and Alexandroupolis.The MoU also envisages…

Trinidad Hopeful for Offshore Gas Projects with Venezuela

Trinidad and Tobago's government is optimistic two flagship offshore gas projects with neighboring Venezuela to be operated by Shell, BP and Trinidad's National Gas Company will move forward amid political changes in the OPEC country, the energy minister of the twin-island nation said on Wednesday.The U.S. has been relaxing sanctions on Venezuela's energy industry as part of an ambitious $100 billion reconstruction plan since U.S. forces captured President Nicolas Maduro last month.

Op/Ed: Arctic Ice is a U.S Shipbuilding Thermostat – Let’s Turn Up the Heat

In December of 2025, the U.S. Coast Guard announced the award of two contracts to build up to six Arctic Security Cutter (ASC) icebreakers. The announcement declaring the vessels would be built between the United States and Finland in a major step forward for America’s national security in the Arctic region. The decision process encompassed more than the security of the Arctic passage. It announces a major shift in the U.S. Shipbuilding process. A second round of contracts were approved February 11…

Container Shipping Consolidation Continues with $4.2B ZIM Acquisition

In a move that further reshapes the global liner landscape, Hapag-Lloyd has agreed to acquire ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $4.2 billion, the companies announced today.Under the terms of the merger agreement, Hapag-Lloyd will acquire ZIM for $35.00 per share in cash, representing a 58% premium to ZIM’s prior-day closing stock price, a 90% premium to its 90-day VWAP, and a 126% premium to its unaffected share price of $15.50 in August 2025 prior to market speculation.The transaction…

LNG Shipping’s Long-Term Outlook Remains Positive

The UP World LNG Shipping Index gained 4.05% last week, closing at 182.36 points and exceeding the 180-point mark for the first time in its history. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% over the same period.Trading activity was robust, with volume well above average and a 15:4 ratio of rising to falling stocks. Several companies broke through resistance levels on strong volume, led by COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation (+10.6%) and Chevron (+6.1%). Shell, BP, Tsakos Energy Navigation, and Nakilat all moved above their respective resistance levels.Atlantic spot charter rates continued declining to $11…

Electricity Needs for AI, Data Centers May Turn LNG Glut into Gap by 2030

Growing electricity demand from AI and data centres, together with rising fuel use in Asia and European gas needs could turn an expected global liquefied natural gas supply glut into a shortage by 2030, Qatar Energy CEO Saad al-Kaabi said on Monday.LNG coming online between 2026 and 2029 has raised concerns of a supply glut that could depress prices, with projects like Golden Pass LNG on the U.S. Gulf Coast and Qatar's North Field Expansion expected to contribute sizeable volumes."We…

The US Navy Contracting Approach Fails the Stability Test

In the 1990’s, my father was asked to attend a side shell damage on a US Navy vessel. The damage was caused by assist tug hard contact. He surveyed the damage and came back to the office to write it up. His partner Harry Ottaway saw my Dad’s commercial damage repair estimate, and said: “Henk it is a Navy ship. Double it, and double it again”. He did and came pretty close to the Navy’s claimed repair cost.This was not a complex damage, and in actual repair process was no different than the repair of a commercial vessel side shell damage…

Subsea7 Gets Shell’s Contract for Deepwater Development off US

Subsea7 has secured a sizeable contract by Shell for the Kaikias Waterflood project, a deepwater development in the Mars-Ursa Basin, off the Louisiana coast in the United States.The scope of work includes the transportation and installation of a subsea umbilical, riser, and a rigid flowline in water depths of up to 1,650 meters.Project management and engineering activities will begin immediately from Subsea7's Houston, Texas office, with offshore operations scheduled for 2027.The exact value of the contract has not been disclosed…

Petrovietnam Agrees First-Ever LNG Term Deal with Shell

State-owned Petrovietnam Gas has awarded its first-ever term supply tender seeking liquefied natural gas (LNG) to energy major Shell, which will deliver the super-chilled fuel to Vietnam from 2027 to 2031.The five-year supply deal will see Shell deliver about 400,000 metric tons a year of LNG to the Southeast Asian nation, according to a Petrovietnam Gas statement issued late on Tuesday.The LNG will be supplied on a delivered ex-ship (DES) basis to Petrovietnam Gas' Thi Vai terminal.Vietnam began importing LNG in 2023, with its first cargo delivered to its inaugural Thi Vai import terminal.

CPC Suspends Black Sea Oil Exports After Storm Halts Terminal

The Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which delivers oil from Kazakhstan, said it had suspended oil exports from the Black Sea's terminal on Monday due to bad weather.It also said that terminal has halted oil intake due to full reservoirs until weather improves.CPC's loading operations have already been constrained by the Ukrainian drone attack on November 29.The exports bottlenecks at the terminal near the Russian Black Sea's port of Novorossiysk, which handles around 80% of Kazakhstan's oil exports…

DOF Expands Backlog with Atlantic Awards, Shell IMR Deal

Norwegian offshore vessel owner and subsea services provider DOF Group has secured several new project awards in the Atlantic region and a separate contract in North America with Shell.The Atlantic region awards, amounting to over $60 million, will be executed primarily using DOF’s regional fleet during the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026. The contracts represent more than 250 firm vessel days, excluding optional work.In West Africa, DOF will deploy Skandi Hera and Skandi Master under direct contracts with an operator.

SLB, Shell to Accelerate Digital Solutions for Upstream Operations

SLB signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Shell to develop digital and AI solutions that drive measurable performance and efficiency gains across upstream operations for the company and the wider industry.The collaboration has the ambition to develop agentic AI-powered solutions that will accelerate and amplify the capabilities of technical experts and decision makers. The aim is to develop and deploy an open data and AI infrastructure that unifies data and workflows across subsurface…

Chevron Among Top Bidders at Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Auction

BP, Chevron and Shell were among the top bidders on Wednesday at the U.S. government's first sale of oil and gas drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico since 2023.The auction, which ended with $279.4 million in high bids, was the first of 30 mandated by U.S. President Donald Trump's tax cut and spending bill, which he signed into law in July.His administration's plans for offshore leasing are a significant departure from that of his predecessor, President Joe Biden, which had planned…

EDF Considers Selling US Renewable Unit to Focus on French Nuclear

French state-owned utility EDF is considering selling all of its U.S. renewable energy business, its CEO said on Wednesday, as the company focuses on building up its domestic nuclear operations and U.S. support for wind and solar has been rolled back.Bernard Fontana said the company was considering selling "between 50% and 100%" of its U.S. renewable unit, revising an earlier plan to sell only a minority stake.A deal could value the equity of the unit at nearly 4 billion euros ($4.6 billion)…

Chevron Eyes Lukoil Assets

Chevron is studying options to buy global assets of sanctioned Russian oil firm Lukoil, five sources familiar with the process told Reuters on Monday.The U.S. Treasury gave clearance last week to potential buyers to talk to Lukoil about foreign assets. Chevron would join Carlyle and other firms in the race for the Lukoil portfolio worth at least $20 billion.The United States last month imposed sanctions on Russia's two biggest oil companies, Lukoil LKOH.MM and Rosneft ROSN.MM…

Technip Energies to Supply CO2 Loading Arms for Northern Lights CCS Project

Technip Energies Loading Systems has secured a contract to supply three fully electric marine loading arms for phase 2 of the Northern Lights CO2 transport and storage project in Øygarden, Norway.The loading solution will be installed at the new Northern Lights jetty and will consist of three marine loading arms fully qualified to transfer liquefied CO2.For this second phase, Technip Energies Loading Systems will deliver a fully electric design, a first-of-a-kind eliminating the use of hydraulics and setting a new industry benchmark in terms of operability…

Saudi Aramco to Sign US LNG Supply Agreements

Saudi Aramco is set to sign two U.S. liquefied natural gas supply deals with Woodside Energy and Commonwealth LNG when Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits Washington next week, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.The world's largest oil exporter, Saudi Aramco, wants to become a major liquefied natural gas player, especially in the United States, where LNG capacity is set to almost double over the next four years. It has already signed deals with other U.S.

Seatrium Maintains $12.8B Order Book on Renewables and FPSO Progress

Singapore-based engineering group Seatrium has reported strong execution in the third quarter ended September 30, 2025, bolstered by major offshore and wind project deliveries, a high-value order book and strategic asset sales.The group’s net order book stood at about $12.8 billion (S$16.6 billion), covering 24 projects slated for delivery through 2031. During the third quarter of 2025 the company completed the wind turbine installation vessel Charybdis and the offshore substations Greater Changhua 2b and 4…

Offshore Service Vessels: Regional Bright Spots Emerge

As oil exploration and production goes, so goes the market for Offshore Service Vessels (OSVs) and Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs). Throughout 2025, the prices of oil- which drives exploration and production (E & P), have softened, moving down towards $60/barrel amidst economic uncertainty and a wider than anticipated opening of the taps by major oil producers. In the past year, the Baker Hughes overall count of U.S. rigs working has declined. September 2025’s U.S. Rig count of…

LNG Canada Starts Up Kitimat Train 2

LNG Canada has started production of liquefied natural gas at the second of its two processing units, known as Train 2, the company said.Both trains at the Shell-led project in Kitimat, British Columbia - each with a capacity of 6.5 million metric tons per annum - are now operational, a spokesperson told Reuters.LNG Canada is the first major LNG export facility in Canada and the first on the west coast of North America that provides direct access to Asia, the world's largest market for the liquid fuel.