HOUSTON, March 9, 2026, 16:05 CDT
Shell on Monday announced plans to offload Jiffy Lube International and Premium Velocity Auto to Monomoy Capital Partners for $1.3 billion. The deal, part of CEO Wael Sawan’s effort to pare back operations outside Shell’s top-performing core, also features a long-term lubricants supply arrangement.
Shell’s decision stands out as the company keeps shedding consumer-facing businesses, responding to investors who want solid cash returns from European oil names. That debate has only grown louder after softer oil and gas prices dragged Shell’s fourth-quarter earnings down to $3.3 billion—a low not seen since early 2021.
Shell’s strategy hinges on “value over volume”—meaning it’s focusing on curbing spending, picking assets more selectively, and leaning harder into oil, gas and LNG, the liquefied version of natural gas shipped by tanker. Back in February, two people familiar with the situation told Reuters the company was also taking another look at certain Shell Ventures holdings. Reuters
Shell executive Machteld de Haan said the company was capitalizing on what she called a “strong market opportunity” to “monetize an asset” that isn’t a core part of its U.S. lubricants business, shifting funds to higher-return operations. Shell’s U.S. lubricants subsidiary, Pennzoil Quaker State, struck the agreement, which is expected to close in the second half of 2026, pending regulatory sign-off and other standard conditions. Reuters
Shell has owned Jiffy Lube since 2002, and according to the company, the brand accounts for roughly 6.5% of Shell’s lubricants volume across the U.S. and Canada. As for scale, Monomoy puts Jiffy Lube’s customer count at about 19 million a year, with a network of more than 2,000 service centers. Premium Velocity, meanwhile, brings another 360-plus locations in 20 states into the mix.
“Few brands have the heritage and scale of Jiffy Lube,” said Monomoy Managing Director Lee Mlotek. Monomoy’s founder and co-chief executive Dan Collin said the firm believes it can back Jiffy Lube as a stand-alone business. Shell, for its part, plans to retain Pennzoil, Quaker State, Rotella, and its other lubricant brands, along with its U.S. and Canadian manufacturing, marketing, and distribution operations. Business Wire
Sawan’s overhaul, underway since 2023, has meant pulling the plug on several ventures he sees as outside Shell’s core. There’s been a retreat from some offshore wind and hydrogen projects, plans to exit onshore oil operations in Nigeria, the abandonment of a chemicals park initiative in Singapore, and the sale of retail networks in both Indonesia and Mexico.
Back in December, BP struck a deal to offload a 65% stake in Castrol to Stonepeak for $6 billion—evidence that competitors, too, are revamping their lubricants businesses to streamline operations and chase higher returns.
The Jiffy Lube divestment pales in comparison to a bigger issue looming over Shell: finding new oil and gas reserves to shore up future output. Shell’s reserve life — a key metric tracking the lifespan of its proven reserves at current production levels — slipped to 7.8 years by the end of 2025, down from 8.9 years previously. RBC analysts flagged the drop, warning it could “fuel more questions” about how Shell plans to handle reserve replacement deals. Reuters
Shell shares picked up 2.4% in London Monday, trailing the sharper move seen in spot oil as crude spiked on renewed supply worries tied to the war on Iran. James West, who leads energy and power research at Melius Research, flagged that traders were largely positioning for a quick reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and normalization in prices—underscoring how quickly any benefit from pricier oil could evaporate.
