Oddity in the story.
Shell has recently exited their shale holdings, so this is not about “better opportunities elsewhere in shale”.
The oil majors have invested enormous money over the past 5-10 years and seen their oil production barely creep up globally. In comparison to the 10 years prior when investment of about 1/6th the amount yielded oil output 10X higher. A lot of major programs are being shut down. They cost too much and don’t yield results. The majors are conserving cash to meet their quarterly dividends.
Scarcity. Get used to the word. It defines the future.
All of the shale holdings? Or just one or two?