According to Reuters, Shell, the largest oil and gas company, is mulling over exiting its home energy retail businesses in the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands due to "tough market conditions."

In 2022, European energy suppliers struggled with sharp fluctuations in wholesale prices and efforts taken by governments to protect consumers from rising bills. Those factors adversely affected Shell’s performance. Shell stressed it had launched a strategic review of the three businesses, namely in the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands, that could take a few months.

Notably, Shell poured nearly $1.5 billion in cash and credit into its British energy retail business. This step was made to help it mitigate sharp volatility in power prices. However, the company was unable to tackle this issue. As a result, Shell's retail business contracted markedly.  Although the retail businesses faced obstacles, Shell is set to post a record annual profit of over $30 billion in 2022.