Shell’s CEO Wael Sawan told CNBC the company is actively considering multibillion-dollar offshore natural gas investments in Venezuela that could start production in the next few years, pending regulatory approvals. The comments mark one of the clearest public signals yet that Shell is weighing a major push into Venezuelan energy assets after years of sanctions and uncertainty.
The potential targets are offshore gas opportunities. Sawan said these projects could be activated within months, which is about as tight a timeline as Big Oil ever commits to publicly. The interest follows a broader industry trend of revisiting Venezuelan hydrocarbon development, including shared gas fields with Trinidad and Tobago that Shell and BP have sought U.S. licences for after sanctions eased.
What’s not clear yet is the scale, structure or terms of any deal, and Shell’s comment doesn’t mean final investment decisions have been made. The CEO was explicit that approvals are still pending — in other words, this is a strategic consideration, not a signed contract.
That context matters because Shell’s latest financials out this week show the company is under pressure even as it keeps rewarding investors. Shell reported adjusted earnings of roughly $3.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, down from prior quarters, and missed some analyst expectations. The company boosted its dividend by about 4 percent and kept a $3.5 billion share buyback in place, but net debt climbed and earnings were the weakest in nearly five years as lower oil and gas prices and losses in its chemicals and products segment weighed on results.
Shell is generating enough cash to keep shareholders happy. It’s not, however, making enough to make massive new bets without a clear path to approvals and returns. The Venezuela talk is real and potentially big if it leads to sanctioned operations, but it’s not a done deal.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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