Shell plc

Shell plc announced that on 25 August 2026 it purchased a total of 1,675,000 shares for cancellation under its existing share buy-back programme, which was previously announced on 30 July 2026. The purchases were executed across multiple trading venues, with 1,200,000 shares bought on the London Stock Exchange at a volume-weighted average price of £33.8391 per share, 200,000 shares on Chi-X (CXE) at £33.8408 per share, and 275,000 shares on XAMS at €39.6021 per share. Goldman Sachs International is managing the programme, making trading decisions independently of the company, and will continue to do so until 23 October 2026. The buy-back is being conducted in accordance with UK and EU regulations, and the shares purchased will be cancelled.

Global private investment in nuclear fusion hit a record $4.48 billion in 2025, up 69% from a year earlier, as major energy companies like Eni, Equinor, Chevron, Shell, and Cenovus ramp up their commitments. Eni plans to deploy a commercial fusion power plant in Europe by the early 2040s, building on its investment in Commonwealth Fusion Systems and a $1 billion agreement to buy electricity from the startup's first U.S. plant. Eni is also forming a joint venture with the UK Atomic Energy Authority to develop fuel systems for fusion reactors, targeting a large-scale tritium fuel-cycle facility by 2028. Commonwealth Fusion Systems raised another $1 billion in July, bringing its total funding to $4 billion, and its planned 400-MW ARC facility in Virginia is the first fusion project to apply for grid interconnection. Chevron has backed TAE Technologies and Zap Energy, while Shell invested in Zap's $130 million Series D round, and Cenovus's early bet on General Fusion is moving toward a Nasdaq listing.

ARC Resources Ltd. announced that the Government of Canada has approved its previously announced plan of arrangement with Shell plc and Shell Canada Limited under the Investment Canada Act. The arrangement, which was approved by ARC shareholders on July 14, 2026, and received a final court order on July 15, 2026, has now cleared all key regulatory hurdles, including approvals under the Competition Act, the Canada Transportation Act, and the U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. The Alberta Securities Commission has also granted exemptive relief to Shell for its share buyback programs. The transaction is expected to close on or about September 2, 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.

Shell plc announced that on 18 August 2026 it purchased 2,512,093 shares for cancellation as part of its existing share buy-back programme. The purchases were made across multiple trading venues, including 930,900 shares on the LSE at a volume weighted average price of £33.9105, 321,000 shares on Chi-X at £33.9032, and 133,603 shares on BATS at £33.8973. In addition, 768,376 shares were bought on XAMS at €39.7206, 339,824 shares on CBOE DXE at €39.7421, and 18,390 shares on TQEX at €39.7101. The buy-back programme was previously announced on 30 July 2026, with Goldman Sachs International making trading decisions independently of the Company until 23 October 2026.

Shell Energy Philippines, a subsidiary of Shell Plc, has signed engineering, procurement and construction and operation and maintenance contracts for its 30-megawatt, 60-megawatt-hour Hermosa battery energy storage project in Bataan on Luzon Island. Power Dimension Inc will serve as the EPC contractor, overseeing installation of the battery energy storage system, electrical infrastructure, balance-of-plant facilities and commissioning. Sungrow Power Technology Solutions Philippines Inc will manage operations under separate long-term service agreements and O&M contracts, using its Power Titan 3.0-based battery technology. The facility is designed for approximately two hours of discharge capability and will store electricity when supply is available and release it to the grid when demand is higher. Shell Energy Philippines president and CEO Bernd Krukenberg said the agreements provide the foundation for bringing the facility into operation safely and efficiently.

Exxon Mobil and Chevron more than doubled their year-ago profits in the second quarter, combining for $26.6 billion as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz spiked crude prices. Exxon reported $14.5 billion in profit, up from $7.1 billion a year earlier, while Chevron reported $12.1 billion, up from $3.1 billion. Gas prices have surged from under $3 to $4.06 a gallon since the Iran war began, and President Trump threatening to bomb mediator Oman risks driving them higher. Both companies' integrated models capture profits from well to pump, but a Hormuz peace deal could collapse the windfall almost overnight.

BP and Shell both posted big profit jumps this quarter, mainly due to the same Iran-war-driven surge in oil and gas prices. BP's profit more than doubled to $5.73 billion, beating the $5.11 billion analysts expected, while Shell's adjusted earnings came in at $9.84 billion, beating the $8.92 billion estimate and marking its best quarter since 2022. BP raised its dividend 4% and cut net debt to $22.25 billion from $25.3 billion, while Shell maintained its 19th consecutive buyback of at least $3 billion and cut net debt to $41.75 billion from $52.6 billion. BP CEO Meg O'Neill admitted the company has not delivered consistently and is pushing an aggressive turnaround, while Shell CEO Wael Sawan said the firm is designed to thrive through volatility. Hedge fund data shows BP had 49 holders as of Q1 2026, down from 51, while Shell had 45 holders, up from 43.

Shell plc purchased 75,000 of its own shares for cancellation on 10 August 2026 as part of its existing buy-back programme announced on 30 July 2026. The purchases were executed across two venues: 50,000 shares on the London Stock Exchange at a volume-weighted average price of £32.8644, and 25,000 shares on XAMS at a volume-weighted average price of €38.4944. Goldman Sachs International is conducting the programme independently until 23 October 2026 under both on-market and off-market limbs.

Shell has authorized a fresh share buyback plan of up to $3,000 million, with repurchased shares to be cancelled to reduce issued share capital. The company's share price has returned 19.51% year to date, supported by robust second quarter earnings and the new buyback, while an ongoing production outage at the Ormen Lange gas field may be influencing investor perceptions of risk and cash flow resilience. A widely followed narrative values Shell at £35.51 per share, implying the stock is about 7% undervalued relative to its latest close of £32.98, based on cash flow scale, capital discipline, and margins. Shell, the world's largest publicly traded LNG supplier, aims to grow LNG sales volume by 4-5% annually through 2030, supported by strategic assets including its 40% stake in LNG Canada, which is expected to ship first cargo in mid-2025.

Shell shares gained roughly 1.1% Monday as Brent crude surged more than 3% to around $86.11 per barrel, driven by Iran's conditions on reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The oil and LNG giant reported adjusted earnings of $9.84 billion for the second quarter, up from $4.26 billion a year ago, with operating cash flow of $21.4 billion and free cash flow near $17.5 billion. Net debt fell to $41.8 billion from $52.6 billion sequentially, and Shell added $3 billion in fresh buybacks on top of roughly $1.2 billion remaining from its prior program. The stock traded at $89.59 on August 10, which is 12.32% above its GF Value estimate of $79.76, indicating the market has already priced in significant optimism.

Kazakhstan is considering re-routing part of its crude oil exports through pipelines via Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey after Ukrainian drone attacks repeatedly disrupted shipments from Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. The Kazakh Ministry of Energy said on Monday that options include the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan system, shipments across the Caspian Sea through Azerbaijan, and the Baku-Supsa route, while also boosting eastward supply via pipeline to China. Flows through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which handles most of Kazakhstan's crude exports from fields operated by international firms including Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, and Eni, were suspended on three separate occasions in July alone. The latest week-long shutdown briefly removed more than 1 million barrels per day of Kazakh production from the market, adding to global supply risks.

Shell plc reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $9.8 billion and free cash flow of $17.5 billion, driven by a $3.4 billion working-capital inflow. Cash flow from operating activities reached $21.4 billion, funding $4.2 billion in capital spending and $2.2 billion in dividends and share repurchases, while net debt fell to $41.8 billion from $52.6 billion in the prior quarter. The company trades at 0.69 times forward sales, below its sub-industry average of 1.3 times, with a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 8.6 and an earnings yield of 11.3%. Shell also announced a $3 billion buyback and targets distributions of 40% to 50% of cash flow from operations through the cycle, though shareholder returns must compete with the pending $13.6 billion ARC Resources acquisition and a 2026 capital-spending outlook of $24 billion to $26 billion. The stock carries a Zacks Rank of 3, or Hold, with Value, Growth, and VGM Scores of A, reflecting favorable fundamentals but balanced by commodity exposure and acquisition execution risks.

Shell reported second-quarter 2026 adjusted earnings of $3.52 per ADS, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.23 and rising from $1.42 a year ago, driven by higher realized prices and margins. Revenues reached $96.3 billion, up from $66.4 billion in the prior-year quarter but missing the consensus by 4.2%. The company returned $5.2 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks, and launched a new $4.2 billion share repurchase program. Upstream profit climbed to $3.5 billion, Chemicals and Products to $2.9 billion, and Integrated Gas to $2.7 billion, all significantly higher than the year-ago periods. Cash flow from operations surged 79.5% to $21.4 billion, and free cash flow reached $17.5 billion.

Shell is investing in the next phase of Arrow Energy's Surat Gas Project in Queensland, Australia, to secure ongoing gas supply for domestic customers and its Queensland Curtis LNG export terminal. The new phase, Surat Gas Project Central, is expected to begin production in 2028 and comprises 143 backfill wells designed to deliver around 79 million standard cubic feet, or approximately 84 terajoules, of gas per day at peak output. Arrow Energy is an incorporated joint venture equally owned by Shell and PetroChina, and the gas will be supplied under an existing 27-year sales agreement between Arrow Energy and the Shell QGC-operated QCLNG joint venture. Shell Australia executive vice-president and country chair Cecile Wake stated that continuing to invest in gas development is critical to domestic energy security, meeting export contracts, and supporting employment and economic activity in regional Queensland.

The war in Iran has triggered a new global refining boom, sending refining margins to record highs and driving the strongest second-quarter earnings for Big Oil since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Refining margins for gasoline and diesel hit new records amid Middle East escalation, Russia's diesel export ban, and low global fuel inventories, with Shell's global indicative refining margin rising to $24 per barrel from $17 in the first quarter. Shell more than doubled its second-quarter earnings year-over-year, TotalEnergies' adjusted net income jumped 68% to $6 billion, and U.S. supermajors ExxonMobil and Chevron reported their highest earnings in years, drawing criticism from President Donald Trump. Chevron achieved record refinery throughput of over 1 million barrels per day, while Exxon's CEO expects continued very robust refining margins. Even if supply disruptions ease, low inventories and restocking needs could support the global refining complex for several more quarters.

Brent crude fell back to around $80 per barrel after renewed optimism over a potential US-Iran draft agreement eased geopolitical fears, even as President Trump criticized US refiners for high fuel profits. Comments from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Qatar's Foreign Ministry about a draft agreement being drafted buoyed hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the US-Iran conflict. Trump accused ExxonMobil and Chevron of making too much money and told them to give some of that money back to the public, while the 3-2-1 spread has doubled since early March to $60 per barrel. The average US gasoline pump price has dipped to $4.08 per gallon as of August 4, up 30% from a year ago. Separately, Shell agreed to sell its European onshore renewables portfolio to TotalEnergies, BP completed the divestment of its Gelsenkirchen refinery in Germany, and SOCAR bought out Itochu's 3.65% operating interest in the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli offshore field.

BP said Tuesday that its net profit more than doubled in the second quarter to $3.91 billion, up from $1.62 billion a year earlier, as the Middle East war roiled oil and gas markets. Total revenue increased 47 percent to $70 billion, while a core profit measure that strips out certain items more than doubled to $5.7 billion, outperforming expectations. The five biggest Western energy majors—BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and TotalEnergies—reported combined net profits of almost $47 billion in the quarter. BP also raised its quarterly dividend by four percent and announced plans to sell its North Sea business and its US biogas business Archaea.

BP reported its strongest quarterly profit in four years, with underlying replacement cost profit surging about 78% to 5.7 billion US dollars for the second quarter of 2026, driven by volatile energy prices during the Iran war. The FTSE 100 company also revealed plans to sell off its US renewable natural gas business Archaea as part of a strategy overhaul under new boss Meg O'Neill, who said the firm is taking urgent action to create more value for shareholders. The profit jump beat analyst expectations and followed similar gains at rivals Shell and ExxonMobil, while campaigners accused BP of profiteering from a climate crisis. BP is also putting its UK North Sea business up for sale and seeking cost efficiencies to boost profitability.

BP Plc posted its strongest quarterly profit in more than four years as its refining and trading businesses boomed during the Iran war. Adjusted net income more than doubled from a year earlier to $5.73 billion in the second quarter, beating the $5.01 billion average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg. The conflict in the Middle East provided global energy merchants and producers with opportunities to profit from massive trade dislocations, while bigger jumps in fuel costs than in crude prices boosted refining margins. Peers from Shell Plc to ExxonMobil Holdings Corp. also reported bumper earnings largely due to the market upheaval. The result gives Chief Executive Officer Meg O'Neill momentum as she presses ahead with an overhaul of the UK energy giant centered on cutting costs, selling assets, and repairing the balance sheet.

Namibia is rapidly emerging as Africa's next major oil producer while neighboring South Africa, which controls roughly two-thirds of the same Orange Basin petroleum province, remains years behind in developing essentially the same petroleum system. TotalEnergies' deepwater Venus Project in offshore Namibia now targets an initial production capacity of roughly 150,000 barrels of oil per day, with first oil aimed for 2030, and the Venus-1X discovery is estimated to contain 1.5 billion barrels of light crude and 4.8 trillion cubic feet of gas. TotalEnergies has also taken over operations of the massive Mopane discovery from Portugal's Galp Energia. Last month, Shell and its JV partners reported a major oil discovery at the Merlin-1X exploration well within Petroleum Exploration Licence 39, with recoverable reserves estimated at 750 million barrels for Phase 1, marking a critical turnaround after a $400 million impairment earlier in 2025 on older discoveries. Namibia's rapid ascent has been driven by a stable, single-window regulatory model that allows exploration and appraisal permits to be secured within three to nine months, while South Africa's overlapping regulatory authority and prolonged approval processes can stretch permitting timelines to as long as five years, compounded by ongoing environmental litigation that has blocked projects.

Shell has agreed to sell its wholly owned subsidiary BG Cyprus to MOL Group for up to $720 million, subject to adjustments and milestone-related contingent payments. The deal transfers Shell's 35% non-operated interest in Cyprus Offshore Block 12, which contains the Aphrodite gas field with estimated contingent resources of around 104 billion cubic metres of gas and eight million barrels of condensate. The transaction is expected to close in early 2027 pending regulatory approvals, and MOL Group will assume Shell's interests and corresponding obligations. Shell said the divestment allows it to realise value created so far while the remaining partners, including operator Chevron Cyprus with a 35% stake and NewMed Energy with 30%, advance toward a final investment decision. MOL Group described the acquisition as its largest upstream growth opportunity since 2019, supporting long-term production targets and reserve growth.

The Motley Fool outlines three predictions for the oil market in the second half of 2026, emphasizing that while oil prices will remain volatile due to Middle East conflict and supply-demand imbalances, investors can find stability through dividend-paying energy stocks. ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Shell have warned that oil prices are likely to stay high even after the conflict ends, as depleted stockpiles and growing global demand create persistent supply constraints. The article suggests that North American midstream companies like Enterprise Products Partners, with a 5.7% distribution yield and 27 years of annual increases, and Enbridge, with a 5% dividend yield and 31 years of increases, offer energy exposure without direct commodity price risk. It also highlights that major integrated oil companies such as Exxon, with 43 years of dividend increases and a 2.6% yield, and Chevron, with 38 years of increases and a 3.8% yield, have proven resilient through cycles, making their dividends a more reliable indicator than short-term oil price swings.

Shell CEO Wael Sawan warned that oil and gas prices are headed higher over the longer term, driven by rising global energy demand and annual production declines of 5% to 7% from existing sources. Speaking at a Wall Street Journal conference, Sawan emphasized that clean energy alone will not be enough to meet growing demand, with oil and natural gas still accounting for 32% of global energy demand in 2025 according to the International Energy Agency. Shell is refocusing on its core oil business after a brief pivot toward clean energy, and its dividend is growing again with a yield of 3.6%. The article also highlights integrated energy peers ExxonMobil, Chevron, and TotalEnergies as solid options for investors seeking energy exposure, noting Chevron's 3.7% yield and TotalEnergies' 5% yield.

ExxonMobil and Chevron warned that high fuel prices are likely to persist even if crude oil falls, because wars in Russia and the Middle East have left global refining capacity critically short. Nearly 10% of the world's refining ability is effectively offline due to the largely closed Strait of Hormuz, Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, and China's export ban, according to Melius Research. ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said available capacity relative to demand is the lowest he has ever seen, with about 5 million barrels a day of refining capacity unable to reach the global market. Chevron CEO Mike Wirth noted that retail diesel prices are just 6% below their highs this year while West Texas Intermediate is down 26% from its 2026 high, and he expects upward pressure on product pricing into the third quarter and beyond. ExxonMobil's Gulf Coast refineries ran at 95% utilization in the second quarter, Chevron's US facilities at 97%, and Shell's at 102%, leaving little room to absorb further disruptions.

Chevron reported its largest quarterly net profit ever at $12.1 billion, while ExxonMobil posted $14.5 billion in second-quarter income and Shell earned $10.8 billion, as the Iran war's disruption of oil and gas supply through the Strait of Hormuz drove up crude prices, refining margins, and petrochemical gains. Chevron CEO Mike Wirth said he sees little evidence of significant demand destruction, though he called China a 'black box' given its nearly 4 million barrel per day drop in oil exports. Exxon CEO Darren Woods expressed confidence that Middle East energy resources will eventually return to the market, while both companies plan to boost investment in new exploration in regions such as South America, West Africa, and the Eastern Mediterranean. Despite the windfall, Exxon shares dipped 1.5% after in-line results, while Chevron rose over 2% to a market cap above $390 billion.

Shell reported record second-quarter profits, its strongest quarterly performance in four years, with net income of US$10,821 million and a Q2 dividend of US$0.3906 per share. Earnings more than doubled as oil and gas prices moved higher following the US-Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The company kept operations running while repairing damage at its Qatari gas-to-liquids facility and progressing a North Sea gas project, and it is also waiting for regulatory approval on a major acquisition of ARC Resources that could reshape its portfolio. New production guidance for Q3 2026 excludes ARC and Qatar volumes and factors in higher maintenance, giving the market clearer near-term expectations. The stock closed at £33.19, up 20.3% year to date and 172.9% over five years.