Shell's US executive claims Trump's halting wind projects damages investment, FT reports

Colette Hirstius, president of Shell U.S. in a Financial Times report published Sunday, said that the decision by President Donald Trump's administration to halt offshore wind projects which have been fully approved is "very harmful" to investment.

The executive told the paper that energy projects which have been granted the proper permits, should continue. He also warned against the possibility of the U.S. political pendulum swinging back to the oil and gas industry.

I think that uncertainty in the regulatory climate is damaging. She told the newspaper that no matter how far the pendulum swings in one direction, it is likely to swing the same way the other way.

She said, "I would certainly like to continue the development of those projects which have been allowed in the past."

Shell did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

The Trump administration announced in August that it would cancel $679 million of federal funding for 12 projects offshore wind, a blow against an industry which was central to the climate and energy agendas of former president Joe Biden.

Shell, a London-listed company, employs over 11,000 Americans and is the biggest producer of oil in the Gulf of Mexico.

(source: Reuters)