'May Allah help us': Pakistan netizens on Shell announcing exit from country

Pakistani netizens lamented at the exit of Shell from its Pakistan unit with the sale of its 77% shareholding in the local business.

The move came after Shell Pakistan (SPL) suffered losses in 2022 due to exchange rates, the devaluation of the Pakistani rupee, and overdue receivables, and as the country faces a financial crisis and economic slowdown.

"To support its intention to high-grade and simplify its portfolio, Shell Petroleum Company Ltd... has initiated a sales process to sell its 77.42 per cent shareholding in Shell Pakistan Ltd," a spokesperson for Shell Pakistan said in an email to Reuters.

That includes "all of SPL’s Downstream businesses and SPL’s 26% ownership of Pak-Arab Pipeline Company Ltd (PAPCO)," the spokesperson added. Its Downstream businesses include Mobility and Lubricants.

"This is just tip of the iceberg," said a Twitter user on this news while quote tweeting a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf tweet on Shell's exit. People slammed the Pakistan Army, PM Shehbaz Sharif and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar for the sorry state of economic affairs that led to Shell's exit from the country after 125 years.

SPL is listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange. The company said in a notice to the exchange that the announcement "does not impact SPL's current business operations, which continue".

It said in the notice that Shell Petroleum Company had notified its board of directors of its intention to sell the holding in a meeting on June 14.

"Shell has entered into a process and wants to be transparent," the spokesperson said.

"These decisions are not taken lightly, and Shell’s focus will now be on pursuing a safe and smooth divestment and continuing to deliver safe, reliable operations."

With inputs from Reuters

Watch: Full List of Cancelled Trains due to Cyclone Biparjoy. Also check Short Terminated and Short Originated Trains in Western Railway’s latest update ahead of Cyclone landfall