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By Adewale Sanyaolu
Shell has commenced cutting hundreds of jobs, including roles within its low-carbon solutions unit.
The layoffs form part of the UK oil and gas major’s broader strategy to enhance performance and increase investor returns.
According to Bloomberg, the initial phase of job cuts at Shell has affected its low-carbon solutions unit, with staff receiving details last week following an internal announcement last December
The sources added that the corporate affairs division has also been informed, and further reductions are expected in departments such as projects and technology.
“Shell aims to create more value with less emissions by focusing on performance, discipline and simplification,” a spokesperson was quoted as saying.
Achieving those reductions will require portfolio high grading, new efficiencies and a leaner overall organisation.”
Shell CEO, Wael Sawan has committed to stringent measures to refine the company’s performance and elevate shareholder value.
The company is reportedly working to narrow the valuation disparity with US counterparts such as ExxonMobil and Chevron through asset sales and scaling back on lower-yield investments, some of which are in the renewable energy sector.
At the close of 2022, Shell’s workforce numbered approximately 93,000 on a full and part-time basis globally, more than twice the size of Chevron’s staff, even though Chevron boasts a market value that is 34 per cent greater.
Following Shell’s divesture of its domestic retail business to Octopus Energy, around 1,800 individuals are set to depart from the company.
In October 2023, Shell disclosed that 200 positions from its low carbon solutions unit would be eliminated, accounting for around 15 per cent of the division, with an additional 130 roles under consideration.
In Nigeria, Shell operating as Shell Petroleum Development Company(SPDC) had last week announced the sale of its $1.2 billion onshore oilfields and gas assets to Renaissance, a consortium of five companies.
The five Nigerian companies with footprints in oil exploration and production are; ND Western, Aradel Energy, First E&P, Waltersmith and Petrolin,
The sale deal which has been in the pipeline for some years is however, subject to approvals by the Federal Government in addition to other conditions.
If approved by Government, the transaction would fulfill Shell’s long-term goal of extracting itself from a challenging operating environment in the Niger Delta region while retaining a presence in the offshore and deep offshore.
‘‘We are pleased to announce the signing of a landmark transaction with Shell to acquire its entire shareholding in the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC),’’ the company said.
Beyond the initial sale price, Shell said it would receive additional cash payments of as much as $1.1 billion on completion.
Shell had often lamented that crude theft is a serious threat to our country. In 2022, Shell in its Briefing Notes said it faced the biggest operational challenge in many years at SPDC, where a significant decline in crude receipts at the Bonny Oil and Gas Terminal resulted in declaration of force majeure in March 2022.
