London, Feb 12, 2026, 07:52 GMT — Premarket
- Shell shares ended Wednesday up 2.9% at 29.14 pounds, near a 52-week high.
- A report said four EY partners left after compliance failures linked to EY’s Shell audit.
- Shell disclosed fresh share repurchases under its $3.5 billion buyback programme.
Shell (SHEL.L) shares were set for a closely watched session in London on Thursday after the Financial Times reported that four partners have left auditor EY following potential breaches tied to EY’s Shell audit. (Reuters)
The episode matters because it keeps scrutiny on Shell’s governance plumbing at a moment when investors are leaning hard on balance-sheet discipline and payouts in the oil sector. Shell has said PwC will replace EY as auditor from 2027, after Shell disclosed EY breached partner-rotation rules; Britain’s Financial Reporting Council is investigating EY’s audit of Shell’s 2024 financial statements. (Reuters)
It also lands with Shell shares close to recent highs, after a strong run for energy stocks in London. The FTSE 100 set a record close on Wednesday, with energy names rising as oil prices climbed on supply worries linked to U.S.-Iran tensions, and Shell gained alongside peer BP. (Reuters)
Shell ended Wednesday up 2.90% at 29.14 pounds, within about 0.8% of its 52-week high, MarketWatch data showed. Turnover was below its recent average, a sign buyers were not exactly chasing it. (MarketWatch)
On the company side, Shell said it bought back 1.28 million shares on Wednesday across London and Amsterdam venues for cancellation, with purchases run by Morgan Stanley as part of its $3.5 billion programme announced earlier this month. Buybacks are when a company repurchases its own shares, often to cut the share count and return cash. (GlobeNewswire)
Shell’s longer-term strategy chatter has not gone away either. Chief Executive Wael Sawan said on Tuesday Shell does not need to buy additional assets “anytime soon” to deliver on its 2030 targets, though the company and analysts have flagged a bigger production gap into 2035. (Reuters)
Across the UK oil patch, buybacks are a live wire. BP paused its $750 million quarterly share buyback this week as it pivots cash toward debt reduction, a contrast investors keep putting up against Shell’s steadier payout stance. (Reuters)
But the sector tailwind from crude has looked jumpy. Brent was up around 0.4% near $70 a barrel in early trade on Thursday after a more than 2% fall the day before, when U.S. data showed a big rise in crude stocks; IG analyst Tony Sycamore said the market would need a sustained break higher to keep momentum, and warned a de-escalation in geopolitics could trigger profit-taking. China Futures researcher Mingyu Gao pointed to a resilient U.S. economic backdrop supporting demand expectations. (Reuters)
Investors will watch for any fresh comment from Shell or EY and for regulatory next steps around the audit probe. On the calendar, Shell is due to publish its LNG Outlook on March 16 and report first-quarter results and dividends on May 7. (GlobeNewswire)
