Shell’s London Escape Route: Is the Oil Giant Preparing to Jump to New York?

Here’s the latest on Shell plc’s plan to move its listing to New York — with an investigative, critical lens.

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By John Donovan (with AI collaboration)

21 October 2025

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When a corporate behemoth begins to flirt with another stock exchange, the romance is rarely innocent. Shell plc — once Royal Dutch Shell plc, before dropping the “Dutch” as neatly as a discarded partner — is now openly courting Wall Street.

The CEO, Wael Sawan, has been muttering about “value gaps” and “unlocking potential,” code for what London traders hear as: we’re tired of being undervalued in a city that drinks warm beer instead of crude profits.

“If we work through the sprint… and we still don’t see that the gap is closing, we have to look at all options,”

Sawan told Bloomberg, according to Reuters.

Those “options” appear to include packing up Shell’s headquarters in London and hopping a plane across the Atlantic — where fossil fuel giants are treated not as climate pariahs but as patriotic job creators.

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The “Sprint” No One Asked For

Shell’s “sprint” is a five-year austerity marathon designed to make shareholders, not polar bears, happy. As the Financial Times reports, Shell plans to cut $5 billion to $7 billion in costs by 2028, slash capital spending, and boost returns to investors.

In other words: less money on transition, more money on dividends — and perhaps a shiny New York Stock Exchange listing to go with them.

For context, Shell’s American peers ExxonMobil and Chevron both enjoy higher valuations despite equally gargantuan carbon footprints. The difference? U.S. investors applaud boldness, not conscience.

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London’s Loss, Wall Street’s Gain

Shell’s public position remains coy. As the company told AP News:

“There is no live discussion at the moment on this … our No. 1 priority is to make sure that we unlock the full potential of this company.”

But markets have a sixth sense for hypocrisy. Analysts note that Shell’s board has quietly explored “dual-listing” models, which could allow it to retain a nominal London presence while shifting its financial heart to Manhattan.

If the move happens, it would be another blow to the London Stock Exchange, already nursing its wounds from British corporates heading overseas.

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The ESG Dilemma: Lipstick on a Barrel

Ironically, a move to the U.S. could expose Shell to tougher climate-related litigation. American activist funds — such as BlackRock, one of Shell’s largest shareholders — have faced rising pressure from both green investors and fossil-friendly politicians.

BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink, often accused of climate double-speak, once declared that “climate risk is investment risk.” Yet his firm remains one of the biggest institutional holders of Shell shares.

It’s a delicious contradiction: Shell may run from London’s ESG critics straight into the arms of Wall Street’s own moral pretzels.

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Why New York?

1. Liquidity and valuation: Wall Street pays more for oil profits, less for apologies.

2. Cultural resonance: The U.S. treats fossil fuel executives like astronauts who discovered capitalism.

3. Shareholder satisfaction: American investors demand aggressive buybacks and dividends. Shell has already boosted both.

4. Political optics: In the U.S., fossil fuels are not villains — they’re campaign donors.

As The Times notes, Sawan’s hints have already prompted speculation that “Britain could lose one of its crown jewels.” A strange jewel indeed — one that leaks methane and sues environmentalists.

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The View from The Hague

Inside Shell, some executives worry about the optics of abandoning Europe while still pretending to be a climate-transition leader. Others point out that reputation management is a lost cause — as the company has already been roasted for its record in Nigeria, the Arctic, and even Groningen’s earthquake-ravaged gas fields.

A Shell insider reportedly told a major investor call that “we have to align perception with performance.” Translation: if we can’t fix our ethics, maybe we can fix our stock price.

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A Tale of Two Markets

In London, Shell is the ghost of empire — respectable, ageing, and slightly out of touch.

In New York, it would be reborn as a swaggering maverick — spinning press releases about “energy security” and “resilient shareholder value.”

Environmentalists see through the act. “Changing your postcode doesn’t change your pollution,” one climate researcher quipped online.

But Shell has always excelled at optics. From its greenwashed advertising to its creative accounting of “emissions offsets,” the company remains the world’s most skilled illusionist in the carbon theatre.

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The Bigger Picture: The Sin Stock’s Salvation

Let’s be clear — Shell is not the only sinner in the fossil cathedral. But as the ultimate sin stock, it has refined the art of performing guilt without repentance.

Institutional investors like BlackRock and Vanguard pretend to wring their hands over climate damage, then quietly cash Shell’s dividends. It’s a moral loop worthy of Kafka: ethics outsourced, conscience monetised.

If Shell does decamp to the U.S., it won’t be seeking redemption — it will be seeking applause. And Wall Street, ever the enabler, will deliver it with a ticker-tape parade made of shredded ESG reports.

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Disclaimer

Warning: satire ahead.

The criticisms are pointed, the humour intentional, and the facts stubbornly real.

Quotes are reproduced word-for-word from trusted sources.

As for authorship — John Donovan and AI both claim credit, but the jury’s still out on who was really in charge.

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment.