Shell links North Sea spend to collaboration
The UK-Dutch major stresses an ongoing commitment to its home waters, but with conditions attached
Shell plans to drill 20 wells on the UK continental shelf (UKCS) this year, spending $600mn, Wael Sawan, the firm's upstream director, told the SPE Offshore Europe 2019 conference. "But that commitment comes with strings—we need to work closer together," he warns. "Companies have moved on from the traditional adversarial relationship that existed [on the UKCS]. But we need to embrace technology more. There needs to be a 'next level' of cooperation," Sawan continues. And fellow major Total tells a similar story. "If we increase the level of collaboration, we can deploy new technology earlier, delivering new tools to meet the problems that we face," says the firm's CEO Patrick Pouyanne. Despit
Also in this section
15 May 2025
Financial problems, lack of exploration success and political dogma cause uncertainty across much of the region
14 May 2025
The invisible hand of the market has seen increasing transparency but much more needs to be done to build a better understanding
13 May 2025
A fall in Venezuelan output drives overall production lower, as Saudi Arabia starts to slowly bring more crude to the market
12 May 2025
With the gas industry’s staunchest advocates and opponents taking brutal blows, the sector looks like treading a path of insipid indifference
