Shell Annual LNG Outlook Predicts Demand to Soar 65% by 2050
Shell, which dropped “Royal Dutch” from its name after leaving the Netherlands in 2022 due to high taxes and overregulation, is one of the world’s supermajors (oil and gas driller). Shell is also one of (perhaps THE) largest producers and vendors of LNG, or liquefied natural gas, worldwide. The company has just released its tenth annual LNG Outlook 2026 (full copy below), which highlights key trends in 2025 and hauls out the crystal ball to predict where things are heading over the next 25 years. Shell’s annual LNG outlook says shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz from the Iran war—which shut in roughly one-fifth of global monthly LNG supply—could keep 2026 global LNG trade flat if flows normalize within three months, with growth resuming in 2027. Read More “Shell Annual LNG Outlook Predicts Demand to Soar 65% by 2050”
In March 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported that Shell is “exploring a potential sale of its chemicals assets in Europe and the U.S.,” which includes the Monaca (Beaver County, PA) ethane cracker complex (see 
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has extended three temporary air permits for the Shell ethane cracker plant in Monaca, PA, which would have expired on April 28, 2026. The DEP did the same thing in May 2024 (see 
Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass (CP) LNG export facility in Louisiana began operations in March 2022 (see 
METLEN (Greek energy company) and Shell have signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply and trading between 2027 and 2031. This partnership allows the Greek company to secure up to one billion cubic meters of LNG annually, leveraging domestic terminals and the Vertical Gas Corridor to supply Central Europe and Ukraine. The agreement highlights Greece’s growing importance as a strategic energy hub designed to replace Russian gas with U.S.-produced alternatives. This shift is further reinforced by increased Mediterranean exploration by major U.S. firms such as Chevron and ExxonMobil, solidifying the region’s role in European energy security. Believe it or not, there are implications for the Marcellus/Utica region. 
Yesterday, Shell’s chemical division reported a $66 million fourth-quarter loss, driven by weak margins and operational hurdles at its $14 billion Beaver County ethane cracker plant complex. Shell CEO Wael Sawan acknowledged the chemicals business is underperforming, making a turnaround a “top priority” for 2026. Although Shell is exploring a sale or joint venture for the Monaca facility due to its geographic isolation and high costs, no specific updates were shared during the latest earnings call. 
This is really rich. Venture Global (VG), now the second-largest LNG (liquefied natural gas) exporter in the U.S., is accusing Shell of waging a “three-year campaign” to damage VG’s LNG business. VG’s Calcasieu Pass (CP) LNG export facility in Louisiana began operations in March 2022. Typically, a new LNG facility will load and ship several (maybe two or three) cargoes to “work out the kinks” and ensure everything is working as advertised. VG, using loopholes in its signed contracts, maintained that it was working out the kinks long after it began shipping. After *hundreds of cargoes* were shipped, CP’s customers were still not receiving their contracted (at lower prices) shipments. Shell, along with several other customers, sued (see 
Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass (CP) LNG export facility in Louisiana began operations in March 2022 (see 
In February 2016, Shell completed a $69.7 billion buyout and merger with BG, the largest such oil and gas deal since Exxon bought Mobil in 1999, driven by the company’s love of LNG (see 
Venture Global has won an arbitration case brought against it by Shell. The case accused Venture Global of not delivering contracted LNG shipments *for years* while Venture Global sold those shipments on the open/spot market for more money than they would have made from honoring their contracts with Shell (and with other big LNG buyers, Shell wasn’t the only one to sue). Shell claimed to have spent some $1.7 billion more buying LNG than it would have if Venture Global had honored its contract. Yet in arbitration, the tribunal found that Venture Global did honor the letter of the contracts signed. Venture Global may have won based on the letter of the contract, but they certainly lost based on the spirit of the contract, by exploiting loopholes. They lost the trust of their customers. 
Two days ago, MDN brought you the news confirming that Shell is looking to sell all or part of its Beaver County, PA, ethane cracker plant operation (see 
Shell, Norway’s Aker BP, and Canada’s Enbridge have all quit a Big Green-backed organization called the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a corporate climate action organization that is supposed to enable companies and financial institutions worldwide to “play their part in combating the climate crisis,” primarily by eliminating fossil fuels. Someone finally woke up at Shell and these other companies, and they quit, pulling their funding with them, which shut down SBTi’s work on a so-called net-zero standard for oil and gas in the process. 