Shell (LON: SHEL) CEO Wael Sawan has said he is open to moving the supermajor’s primary stock listing from London to New York.
Speaking to Bloomberg, the Shell boss said the valuation gap with international peers is too wide.
“‘I have a location that clearly seems to be undervalued,” Sawan told Bloomberg in reference its London listing and the difference with international peers listed in New York such as ExxonMobil and Chevron.
The discussion has sent alarm bells ringing in the City of London over concerns that others, like BP or Glencore, could follow suit.
Wael Sawan described a 10-quarter “sprint” to cut operating costs for Shell, which is Europe’s largest oil and gas company, reporting adjusted profits of $28.2bn last year.
“If we work through the sprint, and we are doing what we are doing, and we still don’t see that the gap is closing, we have to look at all options.”
He went on to say: “You can worry about the gap or you could buy the gap.
“I will keep buying back those shares and buying back those shares at a discount.”
Sawan described that as a “fantastic investment opportunity”.
Any move by Shell to switch its primary listing would require the consent of those holding more than 75% of shares in the company.
A potential listing move for Shell has long been discussed, at least since it moved headquarters from The Hague in the Netherlands to London in 2022.
Sawan said: ““Of course, we looked at it.
“At the time, what we saw is that you need a 75 per cent approval to be able to get any motion approved; we didn’t think we would be able to get 75 per cent approval given that 40-plus per cent of the shareholder base is based in the UK and Europe.
“So we didn’t think it was the battle to go into.”
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