Shell US chief warns Trump's halting of wind projects 'very damaging'

The decision by US president Donald Trump to halt fully permitted offshore wind energy projects is "very damaging" to investment, the president of Shell US Colette Hirstius said on Sunday.

The decision by US president Donald Trump to halt fully permitted offshore wind energy projects is "very damaging" to investment, the president of Shell US Colette Hirstius said on Sunday.

The executive told the Financial Times that energy projects with proper permits should be allowed to continue and warned the political pendulum in the US 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, it's likely that it's 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 US and is the largest producer of oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico.

Reuters