Royal Dutch Shell is poised to exit New Zealand. One of the cited reasons for exiting the territory is cutting costs due to low oil prices.
"Shell is increasingly focusing on large growth opportunities, with deep water and integrated gas as growth priorities," Robert Jager, Shell's New Zealand chairman, told Bloomberg. Shell is reviewing its gas field and pipeline investments in New Zealand. It is indeed heavily considering complete exit from the territory.
Shell already announces that it ceased operations in Alaska and Canada despite having invested billions in each site. The company has reported a devastating $7.4 billion loss in its latest quarterly results. This is the largest in more than a decade.
Shell has been operating in New Zealand since 1911. That makes it one of the oldest companies operating in the area for running over 100 years that has 84 percent stake on Maui field. The company is leaving the country after several operatorships all over the place including the Great South Basin, which is Shell's first New Zealand exploration outside of Taranaki region.
"New Zealand is a great place to do business and these assets are profitable, well maintained and are an important part of New Zealand's energy mix," said Rob Jager. "The Shell business in New Zealand is a great, but a small part of the global Shell business and hence the decision to undertake a strategic review at this time."
"We are very conscious of the uncertainty this creates for local staff and New Zealand staff abroad, and we will commit to moving quickly through this review process and to keeping people informed on the outcome of the review." According to Shell, there are choices to be made. It is trying to streamline its global portfolio. It is focusing on large growth opportunities. Deep water and integrated gas are its priorities as of this moment.
