London, July 2, 2026, 09:25 BST
- Shell traded flat at 2,872.5 pence in London this morning, steady after dropping 2.1% on Wednesday.
- Shell has wrapped up or lined up $3.0 billion in asset sales over two days, matching the size of its buyback plan that’s now on hold.
- Brent crude slipped to around $71 a barrel on signs of progress in U.S.-Iran talks, plus expected OPEC+ supply boosts weighing on the oil risk premium.
Shell Plc (LON:SHEL) shares were flat in London on Thursday. Investors are watching one figure: $3.0 billion. That’s how much Shell has collected from two U.S. asset sales either announced or completed since June 30. It’s the same as the buyback Shell has put on hold until mid-July.
Shares traded at 2,872.5 pence as of 0906 BST, flat on the session. The stock closed 2.06% lower Wednesday. MarketWatch said the shares are down 23.57% from the 52-week peak of 3,758.5 pence set June 4.
| Fresh Shell item | Cash size | Asset read-through | Why it matters for holders |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jiffy Lube sold to Monomoy | $1.3 bln | Jiffy Lube was about 6.5% of Shell’s lubricants volume in the U.S. and Canada | Shell finished the sale, held onto brands Pennzoil, Quaker State, Rotella, and signed a long-term supply contract. |
| Na Kika/Coulomb sold to Talos and Ridgewood | $1.7 bln | About 37,000 boe/d in 2025; payout works out to about $46,000 per flowing 2025 boe/d | Cash adjustments and closing due by end-2026. These assets were not set to be key for Shell by 2030. |
| Current buyback plan | $3.0 bln | Paused June 12 to July 14 | Shares not bought should be rolled into 2026 buybacks, if the board says yes. |
Shell closed the Jiffy Lube sale July 1, working through Pennzoil Quaker State Company, a Shell USA unit. The transaction covers both Jiffy Lube International and Premium Velocity Auto. Shell kept its lubricants brands and signed a long-term supply deal with Monomoy Capital Partners.
Machteld de Haan, president of downstream, renewables and energy solutions at Shell, said on the deal announcement that Shell could “monetize an asset” and redeploy capital for “higher returns.” Reuters
The Gulf sale stands out. Shell is selling its 50% non-operated interest in the Na Kika platform and linked fields, along with 100% of the Coulomb tieback, to Talos Energy (NYSE:TALO) and Ridgewood Energy for $1.7 billion. BP (LON:BP.) runs Na Kika, owns the other half, and has a 30-day preferential right to buy.
“The Gulf of America is one of our highest-value basins,” Shell upstream president Peter Costello said in the statement on the sale. ADVFN UK
The timing isn’t great for the stock. Shell said June 12 it will pause its $3.0 billion buyback through July 14, citing securities law tied to its pending ARC Resources Ltd (TSE:ARX) deal and ARC’s coming shareholder vote. Reuters reported the ARC deal is Shell’s biggest since it bought BG in 2016.
| Market gauge | Latest quoted level | Tape |
|---|---|---|
| Shell London shares | 2,872.5p at 0906 BST | Unchanged on the day; still 23.57% off the 52-week high. |
| Shell 1-month move | -11.05% | MarketWatch shows this drop. |
| Shell 3-month move | -18.94% | MarketWatch performance data. |
| Brent crude front month | $71.01 at 0833 BST | Down 0.78% today. |
Oil gave up more ground. Brent crude slipped for the third straight session as U.S. and Iran ended talks in Doha with signs of progress on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters said OPEC+ is also seen boosting August output targets by around 188,000 barrels per day.
Shell’s short-term LNG outlook is now less clear. The company said global LNG trade might not grow in 2026 if Hormuz flows normalize over the next three months, but Shell still expects LNG demand to jump 65% to almost 700 million tonnes yearly by 2050. Shell integrated gas president Cederic Cremers called the war a “system-wide shock,” but said LNG “has been able to adapt.” Reuters
ARC holders vote July 14. Shell’s paused buyback is set to last until then. Shell said it planned to finish the current buyback before Q2 2026 results, depending on market conditions.
