When assessing income prospects for Shell (SHEL), perhaps the most significant development – or regression, depending on where you stand on net zero – has been new chief executive Wael Sawan’s apparent preference for hydrocarbon production over the group’s renewable pursuits. The latter business certainly hasn’t been abandoned, but a more pragmatic approach to the energy transition means that the group will keep oil and gas production at current levels through to 2030.
Prior to that move, the Anglo-Dutch oil major had struggled to keep pace with its US counterparts on a total return basis, with all the attendant implications for share price performance. Sawan, formerly head of Shell’s integrated gas and renewables division, was appointed to the helm at the beginning of this year, and his refocus on shareholder returns has contributed to a 5 per cent rise in the share price before we even include the effects of the latest rally in crude oil prices.