The decision by President Donald Trump administration to halt fully permitted offshore wind energy projects is “very damaging” to investment, President of Shell U.S. Colette Hirstius told the Financial Times in a report published on Sunday.
The executive told the newspaper that energy projects with proper permits should be allowed to continue and warned the political pendulum in the U.S. could eventually swing back against the oil and gas sector.
“I think uncertainty in the regulatory environment is very damaging. However far the pendulum swings one way, its likely that its going to swing just as far the other way,” she told the newspaper.
“I certainly would like to see those projects that have been permitted in the past continue to be developed,” she said.
Shell did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment.
In August, the Trump administration said it was cancelling $679 million in federal funding for 12 offshore wind projects, in a blow to an industry that was central to former President Joe Biden’s climate and energy agendas.
London-listed Shell employs more than 11,000 people in the U.S. and is the largest producer of oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico.
(Reporting by Angela Christy in Bengaluru)
