Shell share price: Group considers bidding for UK offshore wind farms rights

Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSA) is considering bidding for rights to develop offshore wind farms in British waters, The Times has reported. The move comes with the Anglo-Dutch energy giant looking to re-enter the sector following a decade-long absence.

Shell’s share price has fallen deep into the red in London this morning, having given up 1.65 percent to 2,269.50p as of 08:58 GMT. The decline is largely in line with the broader market selloff which has seen the benchmark FTSE 100 give up 1.81 percent to 6,606.39 points so far this morning. The blue-chip group’s shares have lost more than eight percent of their value over the past year, as compared with about a near 14-percent dip in the Footsie.

UK wind farms rights

The Times reported this morning that Dorine Bosman, Shell’s vice-president of wind development, had said that the company was interested in seabed leases which are due to be awarded this year by the Crown Estate. She explained that Britain was one of the key offshore wind markets which the blue-chip energy group wanted to enter, adding that it was looking at options to buy into proposed projects which already have leases and are competing for subsidies to be awarded in the spring.

The news comes after Shell recently splashed out $175 million on the rights to develop hundreds of turbines in the waters off New Jersey and Massachusetts.

Group wraps up NZ sale

In a separate development, Shell said last week that it had completed the sale of its shares in its entities in New Zealand, to OMV for $578 million. The move is part of the FTSE 100 group’s strategy to simplify its upstream portfolio.

As of 08:57 GMT, Wednesday, 02 January, Royal Dutch Shell Plc ‘A’ share price is 2,277.00p.