London, Feb 8, 2026, 07:59 GMT — The market is shut.
Shell Plc is hitting pause on fresh Kazakhstan investments while legal battles with the state drag out, CEO Wael Sawan told analysts. “We will hold until we have better line of sight to where things end up,” he said. Kazakhstan is pursuing $13 billion and $3.5 billion in contested costs tied to the Kashagan and Karachaganak oilfields. One arbitration result could land between $2 billion and $4 billion, according to sources. 1
Shell’s shares in London (SHEL.L) ended Friday at 2,774.5 pence, ticking up 5 pence, or 0.18%. Markets are closed for now, leaving investors to weigh legal uncertainties against reliable shareholder payouts heading into Monday. 2
Shell’s latest quarter didn’t meet profit forecasts, but the company stuck with its $3.5 billion buyback and bumped its dividend up 4% to $0.372 a share. Chief Financial Officer Sinead Gorman described the payout range as “sacrosanct.” With oil and gas prices coming off the boil, traders are gauging whether buybacks in the sector will stay intact. Exxon has said it’ll keep its buyback unchanged this year; Equinor has trimmed its own program. 3
Shell on Friday named PricewaterhouseCoopers as its next auditor starting in 2027, following a tender that will see PwC take over from EY. In December, Britain’s Financial Reporting Council launched a probe into EY’s audit of Shell’s 2024 results. Shell said it will revise its 2023 and 2024 annual reports, but the actual financial statements aren’t affected. The company added PwC’s appointment is headed to a shareholder vote at the 2027 annual meeting. EY will stick around for audits through 2026, pending approval at the 2026 AGM. 4
Shell disclosed it bought back 1,637,748 shares for cancellation on Feb. 6, executing purchases across multiple venues as outlined in the buyback plan announced earlier in the week. Trading decisions for the programme are being handled independently by Morgan Stanley & Co International through May 1, according to the company. 5
Shell’s LNG operations are drawing scrutiny. Atlantic LNG in Trinidad and Tobago is set to take Train 4 offline starting May 4 for what could be 50 days of maintenance, according to people with knowledge of the schedule—a pause that might cut output by over 600,000 metric tons, using last year’s numbers. Shell and BP each hold a 45% stake in Atlantic LNG, which, per company figures, accounts for about 10% of Shell’s LNG production next year. 6
Oil finished Friday in positive territory, giving energy stocks a lift heading into the week. Brent crude wrapped up at $68.05 per barrel, a gain of 0.74%. Traders cited renewed U.S.-Iran tensions after Oman-mediated talks failed to bridge differences. WTI ticked up too, closing at $63.55, up 0.41%. 7
The risks aren’t hard to see. Kazakhstan’s legal wrangling could widen or run up a bigger bill than anticipated. The government has already hinted at a fresh, possibly heavier, claim over Kashagan. Even as companies maintain the figures hold, governance headaches—think audit rotation or updated filings—can stick around.
Shell’s fortunes are still tied to the volatile crude-and-gas cycle. If oil prices tumble on demand jitters, sentiment could sour in a hurry—and questions about how secure those hefty buybacks really are may get louder. For the moment, investors are dealing with the same old trade-off: hefty cash returns, countered by a dose of project and political risk.
Next up: Shell’s dividend schedule. Ordinary shares go ex-dividend Feb. 19, while holders of U.S. ADRs face a Feb. 20 cutoff. Investors buying in after those dates miss the next payout, which lands March 30. 8
