‘Absolutely committed to upstream’: Shell chief executive Wael Sawan reveals ruthless focus on most profitable assets

Shell has doubled down on upstream oil and gas activity as the building blocks for higher profitability that the supermajor will chase in the coming years, the company’s chief executive Wael Sawan announced.

Addressing investors and analysts at its capital markets day in New York on Wednesday, Sawan and the major’s top management confirmed that Shell will work to maintain its current oil production output through 2030, reversing an earlier target to reduce output by between 1% and 2% per year in that timeline.