Upstream reported last September that Shell was eyeing the divestment of its one-sixth interest in the NWS project, which could be worth more than US$3 billion, and Bloomberg on Wednesday named two potential buyers.

The major oil companies operating the giant Kashagan oilfield in Kazakhstan initiated an international arbitration process to challenge a $5B environmental fine, Shell said.

Raizen has reported a string of losses and soaring net debt in recent quarters amid costly investments and poor weather negatively impacting crops, prompting the company to warn in February of "significant uncertainty" about its ability to keep operating.

JP Morgan has upgraded two of Europe's largest oil companies and identified its preferred stocks to play a potential surge in oil prices, as full-scale military strikes in the Middle East transform what had been a theoretical supply risk into reality.