Shell Signs Five-Year LNG Deal With Metlen as $5 Billion Buyback and Nigeria Exit Reshape the Portfolio

Shell had a busy Thursday. The energy major booked a doubled quarterly profit, launched a $5 billion share buyback, set out its dividend timetable and trimmed its full-year spending plans — then followed up with a binding LNG supply agreement and a divestment in Nigeria. Investors, however, were focused elsewhere: the stock fell 2.7% as softening crude prices weighed on London-listed oil names.

Crude Weakness Overshadows Operational News

Reuters attributed the pressure on Shell and its peers to hopes of diplomatic progress between the United States and Iran. Any rapprochement could ease disruptions to oil supply from the Middle East, a prospect that tends to pull crude prices lower and drags energy equities down with them.

Five-Year LNG Pact Targets European Buyers

Shell Global LNG and Metlen Energy & Metals signed a binding five-year liquefied natural gas supply contract. Under the terms, Shell will deliver six cargoes a year, equivalent to roughly 0.6 billion cubic metres. Deliveries start in 2027, will draw mainly on Shell's US portfolio and are earmarked for Greece or other European markets.

Earnings Double as Cash Flow Holds Firm

For the third quarter of 2026, Shell reported adjusted earnings of $10.814 billion, more than double the $5.432 billion posted in the same period a year earlier. Cash flow from operations came in at $21.0 billion. The company also lowered its guidance for cash capital expenditure for the full year 2026, now pointing to $23–25 billion rather than the previously expected $24–26 billion.

Shareholder returns were stepped up alongside the results. Shell declared an interim dividend of $0.3906 per share and announced a $5.0 billion buyback, which it expects to complete before publishing fourth-quarter 2026 results. The dividend carries an ex-date of 12 November and a record date of 13 November, with payment scheduled for 21 December 2026.

Fourth-Quarter Outlook and Share Count

Management guided fourth-quarter Integrated Gas production to 1,080–1,180 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day, with LNG liquefaction volumes of 7.3–7.9 million tonnes over the same stretch — forward-looking figures rather than achieved output. A separate voting-rights disclosure put the number of shares carrying voting rights at 5,701,440,412 as of Friday, with no treasury shares held on that date.

Nigeria Divestment and an Egyptian Lubricants Tie-Up

On the portfolio front, Shell International Limited agreed on 13 October to sell Shell Nigeria Gas Limited to Vaaris Energy Limited. Media reports point to completion in the first half of 2027; no transaction value was disclosed. Separately, Shell Lubricants Egypt reportedly struck a deal with MANDREAM — the authorised importer and distribution partner for BYD in Egypt — to supply specialised oils and fluids for BYD vehicles, including models using newer powertrain technologies.