Shell could walk away from offshore wind in $1 billion+ sell-off
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- Shell is planning to sell its offshore wind farm assets in a deal that could raise more than $1 billion, per Bloomberg, with Reuters reporting the oil major hired Rothschild & Co and PJT Partners as advisers and that a sales process is likely around 2027.
- Since becoming CEO in 2023, Wael Sawan has overseen a string of wind retreats: a 50% sale of SouthCoast Wind Energy off Massachusetts in March 2024, a $1 billion write-off on Atlantic Shores in New Jersey in October 2025, and exits from MunmuBaram in South Korea plus CampionWind and MarramWind off Scotland in November 2025.
- Sprng Energy in India is also under strategic review, per Reuters reporting from February, roughly three years after Shell bought the Indian renewables platform for $1.55 billion in 2022.
- Sawan has framed LNG as Shell's biggest contribution to the energy industry over the next decade, making clear where the company's long-term capital is headed.
- Europe's offshore wind fleet passed 38 GW (42% of global capacity) by the end of 2025, and the UK plans another 6 GW leasing round in 2027 after securing 8.2 GW in its latest subsidy auction—so the policy push continues even as one of the oil majors steps back.
- Atlantic Shores and ScottishPower have both said the projects Shell exited can still move forward, meaning the sell-off removes a deep-pocketed backer from individual developments without necessarily killing them.
Why it matters: Shell's $1B+ sell-off crystallizes Sawan's pivot from renewables to LNG, with the oil major's capital moving decisively toward gas. Europe, which passed 38 GW of offshore wind capacity by end of 2025, is still expanding—meaning Shell is ceding ground in a growing market to chase LNG returns. Atlantic Shores and ScottishPower say their projects can still proceed without Shell.
