Oil major Shell has drawn interest from potential bidders, including ExxonMobil and LyondellBasell for its U.S. chemical assets that could fetch up to $8 billion, the Financial Times reported on Monday.
https://energynow.com/2026/08/the-suitors-exxon-lyondell-among-suitors-for-shells-us-chemical-assets-could-fetch-8-billion/
@eg Yes. All the operators, unit engineers, production specialists, maintenance engineers, laboratory staff . . . all have jobs in Chemicals.
Cannot believe no one is talking about layoffs on this one. Make no mistake, those looking to buy will buy assets only and the human beings that are currently running them.
If you are not physically sitting at a chemical's site, you will be gone, make no mistake.
These suitors are not buying Shell’s Chemical business, they are buying sites to add to their portfolio and will then divest anything that does not fit into that portfolio.
Those sitting at WCK, your days are numbered. Su-ks, but better to hear it now than wonder if you’re needed. The sale will take no longer to close than June 30, 2027. You’ll get a package for sure, but start visiting with headhunters and your professional network now.
@cr I don’t know if I would go that far. Getting technical responses still is a crapshoot. Most of the strong technical people are gone in ALL businesses. My experiences with Catalysts has never been that impressive
@ds I have moved onto another O&G company and I feel my new company has better care for people than Shell.
@cs Shell hasn’t cared about people for a long time
@bp smart employee prefer shell because shell care about people
@bt Shell is still excellent and most cases market leading in catalyst.
that’s what happens when “visibility” comprises 100% of your promotion criteria
non-technical managers and non-technical senior ICs
@bm he-l, Shell doesn’t even know how to operate the technology they created back in the day!!! There is almost no technical support available. Too many years of not promoting technical expertise and getting rid of all the experience has left Shell with nothing to call on. The only thing Shell can do is deepwater and even that is questionable.
@b7. Smart people don’t invest in Shell, they invest in Exxon
it gets worse. apparently we don’t even know how to operate the technology that we buy!
@bc what is there to be theoretical about? It’s not like Shell is creating any new technologies anymore.
@bc True they do simulation for publication not for Shell business. They get SRA for their publication which they also don't refer crazy P&T folks
oh yeah for sure. line managers got “unmapped” during the last 2 major reorgs. but it was all for show. none ever had to exit the company, roles magically appeared. they’re immortal, only enduring the illusion of what we common folk do
@bb majority of P&T just too theoretical. Time to get rid off them
@am "Shell has too many processes that don’t add value in downstream, but there are too many JG1/2s that need to show they add value so they create a new process that is supposed to help yet doesn’t. They get promoted before the issues arise."
That is it. The amount of waste and internal work smothering customer-facing P&T since move back into Shell is staggering. Strategy is "doing less with more?"
@b8 line managers are holy cow
It seems that our investors are too foolish to observe that our leadership team is the problem.
Perhaps Exxon buying our 14 billion dollar assets for only 8 billion and then running them profitably within a year would work?
But probably not. Even the line managers at Shell are sacred untouchable cows. Even more so for the senior leadership.
It cracks me up how the LT seriously said “we are undervalued compared to Exxon” with frequency just a year ago. Maybe if they had the skills of Exxon and Lyndon leaders then the stock would finally go up.
i am sure it is a complete coincidence that every single asset shell operates proceeds to get declared as “not marketable” and sold for a steep discount on a 4-5 year cycle
i can’t believe people invest in the stock under this leadership
It’s a public news headline at this point….
You should hope if you work there that Exxon buys it because they are actually able to run things without fire-selling them for 40% off a few years later after cracking the champagne. If there anything that the Wael “I like winning” Sawan Shell leadership team seems to love, it’s shrinking the company and growing rivals. “Capital discipline” looks suspiciously like going out of business in 2035 while being an absolute cheapskate.
@av I think it is rumors I work in pennchem did not hear anything like this
If I was an investor or board member I would get rid of anyone who has ever even tried to run as asset.
But I am not, so instead a combination of dutch old fogies and DEI mo--ns will fire a bunch of innocent employees, sell a campus, cut vending machines, price up lunch, and move us to powdered coffee after wasting 6 million dollars in only 3.5 years on Monaca.
There is less than zero accountability for the decisions of Shell leadership. How is it less than zero? Because they will collect bonuses for fixing the errors when there was no penalty for causing them.
@a6 very astute. if EM buys it, the consequential impact should be WTF is Shell LT doing if a peer can make these assets profitable? Sadly we shouldn’t call them a peer if they’re successful. We’re sad at this point.
@as agreed, but aren’t all the people responsible long gone? Rob K. was projects lead I think? He’s been gone, BVB gone (good riddance). We’re just cleaning up their mess. Unless there really are people responsible still around in which case I’d say, “time to leave.”
Agree with earlier comment.
So, for unloading its Chemical assets Shell is expected to get $8 billion-ish.
Apparently , that includes Monaca, Pennsylvania, operational in 2022, in which Shell invested $14 billion.
Can someone explain how this is a shrewd business move?
Who is getting canned for this abysmal miscalculation?
Answer: no one in leadership.
@a6 from my experience, Shell does not know how to run downstream assets. When convent was owned by motiva it made money. Once Shell took over it was always in the red. Shell has too many processes that don’t add value in downstream, but there are too many JG1/2s that need to show they add value so they create a new process that is supposed to help yet doesn’t. They get promoted before the issues arise.
@a5
This isn’t the first time Shell’s leadership has done this. Around 10 years ago, Shell sold its entire Canadian assets for CAD 7 billion.
This is Shell’s way of delivering shareholder value: come up with major projects, spend billions on cost overruns, then either cancel them citing weakened economics or sell the assets for less than the cost of building them.
And shareholders are somehow supposed to believe this is value creation.
Shell’s leadership can’t operate its assets and generate profits the way ExxonMobil does. Yet Shell’s leadership complains that Shell stock is undervalued compared with ExxonMobil. Shame on them.
@a7 To my knowledge computational team is in Bangalore not in STCH
@a5 lol, comp team is done. Analysis says King level of “I may never financially recover from this.”
Another integrated oil major, ExxonMobil, apparently believes it can acquire and successfully operate Shell’s chemical plants in the United States and make money from them. If ExxonMobil can do so while Shell cannot, shareholders have every right to ask why.
Is the problem inefficiency, poor management, or simply incompetent leadership at Shell? Whatever the explanation, Shell’s leadership continues to collect enormous compensation while shareholders bear the consequences of poor performance and questionable capital allocation.
The time has come for Shell’s leadership to step aside and make way for a management team capable of creating value for shareholders.
The Penchem unit could become another example of Shell’s approach to shareholder value: buy high, invest heavily, and ultimately sell low.
At some point, shareholders have to ask whether the problem is the assets—or the people running Shell.
Paid $14B for Penn chem alone. Selling penn chem, geismar and Deer park chemicals and maybe interconnecting assets for $8B doesn't sound great.
Maybe the STCH computational team can run the numbers on this one.
@OP oh my god looks like something big is planned for us