Shell Names Gas Chief Wael Sawan to Succeed van Beurden as CEO

© Reuters.

By Geoffrey Smith 

AiVIF.com -- Shell (LON:RDSa) said company insider Wael Sawan will take over from current Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden at the end of the year.

Sawan, a 48-year-old Lebanese-born Canadian, is currently head of integrated gas, renewables and energy solutions, a profile that fits him well for the top job in a company that is trying to move away from its historic roots as an oil producer.

However, Sawan also had extensive experience of a business that is still the group's biggest cash generator, having led the upstream division before taking his current job.

Van Beurden is leaving after a momentous nine years in charge, during which time he oversaw the transformative acquisition of BG Group, making the company the world's biggest privately-owned producer of natural gas. He also presided over a massive program of asset sales that followed that deal. 

However, his tenure was also marked by the company's first dividend cut since World War 2, an emergency measure to conserve cash in the early days of the pandemic as oil prices hurtled toward zero. The move was seen as a breach of trust by many investment funds that had relied on the constant growth of its dividend payouts over the years. 

The recovery of oil and gas prices since 2020 has allowed a relatively quick and smooth reconciliation with investors, nonetheless. Shell announced a $6 billion buyback in July after generating huge profits in the first half of the year, benefiting from the surge in prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Those super-profits are now under threat from governments around the world, which are trying to ease the pain of high energy prices for their voters. However, in the U.K., where Shell is domiciled, new Prime Minister Liz Truss has said she won't be extending any windfall taxes.

Shell stock currently trades above where it was immediately before the pandemic, and has risen around 165% from its 2020 low point.