Shell's US executive says Trump's halting of wind projects harms investment, FT reports

Shell U.S. President Colette Hirstius told the Financial Times that the Trump administration's decision to halt fully permitted offshore wind projects and cancel $679 million in federal funding for 12 such projects is "very damaging" to investment. Hirstius emphasized that regulatory uncertainty is detrimental and warned that the political pendulum swinging against renewables could eventually reverse to impact the oil and gas sector, highlighting significant policy volatility for energy investments.

Analysis

Oct 5 (Reuters) - The decision by President Donald Trump administration to halt fully permitted offshore wind energy projects is "very damaging" to investment, President of Shell (SHEL.L) U.S. Colette Hirstius told the Financial Times in a report published on Sunday. The executive told the newspaper that energy projects with proper permits should be allowed to continue and warned the political pendulum in the U.S. could eventually swing back against the oil and gas sector. Make sense of the latest ESG trends affecting companies and governments with the Reuters Sustainable Switch newsletter. Sign up here. Advertisement · Scroll to continue "I think uncertainty in the regulatory environment is very damaging. However far the pendulum swings one way, its likely that its going to swing just as far the other way," she told the newspaper. "I certainly would like to see those projects that have been permitted in the past continue to be developed," she said. Shell did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment. In August, the Trump administration said it was cancelling $679 million in federal funding for 12 offshore wind projects, in a blow to an industry that was central to former President Joe Biden's climate and energy agendas. Advertisement · Scroll to continue London-listed Shell employs more than 11,000 people in the U.S. and is the largest producer of oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico. Reporting by Angela Christy in Bengaluru Editing by Tomasz Janowski Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. The decision by the Trump administration to halt fully permitted offshore wind projects and cancel $679 million in associated federal funding introduces significant regulatory uncertainty into the U.S. energy sector. The President of Shell U.S., Colette Hirstius, characterized the move as "very damaging" to investment, directly linking policy instability to capital allocation risk. Her warning that the "political pendulum" could swing back against the oil and gas sector underscores a critical long-term risk for all energy investments, not just renewables. This statement is particularly noteworthy coming from Shell, the largest oil and gas producer in the Gulf of Mexico, indicating that major integrated energy firms view regulatory consistency as paramount for long-cycle projects across the energy spectrum. The cancellation of projects central to the previous administration's agenda highlights the vulnerability of capital-intensive investments to abrupt political shifts, a factor that will likely be priced into future U.S. energy project financing.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Investors should increase the political risk premium for U.S.-based renewable energy projects, given the demonstrated willingness of the administration to reverse permits and funding for developments that are already underway.
• Consider the cross-sector implications of this policy action, as the precedent for reversing energy project approvals could introduce future regulatory instability for the oil and gas sector under different administrations.
• It is prudent to assess the geographic and political diversification within energy portfolios, potentially favoring companies with assets in more stable regulatory jurisdictions or those with strategies to mitigate U.S. policy volatility.
• Evaluate integrated energy companies like Shell not just on their core fossil fuel business, but also on their strategic positioning and vulnerability to regulatory disruptions affecting their energy transition investments.