The boss of Shell has vowed to take the fight for a crucial North Sea gas project to the Supreme Court amid fears Britain’s hostility towards fossil fuels could see it quit London for New York.
At the Court of Sessions in Edinburgh yesterday, a judge said a decision to approve Shell’s Jackdaw gas field off Aberdeen and Equinor’s Rosebank oil field north-west of Shetland was ‘unlawful’.
That was a major setback for Britain’s oil and gas industry and reignited fears Shell could move its stock market listing from London to New York.
Shell chief executive Wael Sawan said he would ‘absolutely’ go to the UK’s highest court to get consent for Jackdaw. ‘This is the right project for the UK,’ he told the Financial Times.
‘We are developing a key piece of infrastructure that could potentially provide heat to 1.6m British homes rather than importing it.
‘It is a no-brainer. We hope the Government is able to urgently support this project.’
The comments came as Shell hiked its dividend to boost its share price amid a slump in profits, raising payouts 4 per cent, and announced another £2.8billion share buyback despite a 39 per cent drop in profits to £3billion in the fourth quarter. Annual earnings fell 16 per cent to £19billion in 2024.
All eyes are now on a capital markets day in New York on March 25 when Sawan will set out Shell’s strategy.
He has said he will consider moving its listing to the US if efforts to boost its valuation in the UK do not pay off, as he tries to compete with rivals such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron.
But finance chief Sinead Gorman said that while the listing is ‘under review’, moving it to New York is ‘not a live discussion’.
Remaining in the UK would boost London’s stock market.
Derren Nathan, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the investor day will ‘be more closely watched than ever’.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, added: ‘Sawan is desperately trying to close Shell’s valuation gap.’
Under Sawan, Shell has moved away from green energy to boost its most profitable operations.
But that has attracted a backlash from environmentalists, with Greenpeace and Uplift bringing the case that could derail Jackdaw.
The project, 115 miles east of Aberdeen, is expected to produce 40,000 barrels a day for at least two decades.
Approved in 2022, it has cost Shell £800million. A Scottish court yesterday said the Conservatives acted ‘unlawfully’ by green-lighting the projects.
A ruling last summer said indirect emissions, such as cars running on petrol, must be considered when regulators decide whether to approve development. Labour now must make a fresh decision on the projects.
The companies can continue developing sites but not extract any oil and gas.
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