The chief executive of Shell, Wael Sawan, said Wednesday that oil and gas prices will likely keep rising beyond the current conflict-driven pressure as global demand continues to grow, according to an interview with The Wall Street Journal at the WSJ Leadership Institute CEO Summit.
“Prices are going to move up,” Sawan said. “That’s the story of five to ten years [ahead].” He said a price of around $60-$70 a barrel would keep the situation stable, but that upside pressure on prices would be a longer-term story.
Sawan said growing demand and rising prices could lead producers to tap hydrocarbon resources that are currently uneconomic to explore. “All the easy oil and gas has been found,” he said.
Shell has already seen a financial benefit from the spike in oil prices sparked by this year’s conflict in Iran and the Persian Gulf. The London-listed company booked a surge to nearly $2 billion in adjusted earnings in the division housing its oil-trading business in the first quarter of 2026. Sawan said at the time that volatility in prices offered an opportunity to cash in, even as the conflict disrupted production in the Middle East.
Global currents will increasingly drive the cost of resources as countries focus on their own energy security, Sawan said during the interview. “For now, we have the ability to match the world’s demand,” he said. “But that will get more challenged.”
The comments come as oil markets have been roiled for months by the Iran war, which sent crude prices above $100 a barrel and pushed U.S. gasoline prices past $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022. Related prior articles have traced the effects of the conflict on pump prices and supply chains.