Shell flies to Rotterdam the week of the Strait of Hormuz oil crisis

Shell flew from London City Airport to Rotterdam The Hague Airport on June 10, 2026, a 40-minute hop in its Dassault Falcon 7X (tail VQ-BXH). The short-haul trip lands the energy giant's leadership in the Netherlands the same week Shell's CEO warned of global energy disruptions "never seen before" due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, per a CNA report on June 10. The crisis has removed more than 10 percent of global oil production from the market, with Shell CEO Wael Sawan telling a Wall Street Journal summit that rebalancing the system could take nearly a year even if the war ends soon.

Shell is also grappling with a separate crisis closer to home. Internal documents obtained by the BBC and Mongabay this week reveal that Shell continued operating a compromised pipeline in Nigeria's Niger Delta for years despite knowing it was causing widespread pollution. The revelations come as Shell faces an English court case brought by the Bille and Ogale communities over alleged historic oil spills, with trial set for 2027, per Shell's own website.

The flight from London to Rotterdam, where Shell maintains its global headquarters, follows a pattern of short-haul corporate movements: the same Falcon 7X flew from Rotterdam to London on June 9, and from London to Rotterdam on June 7. The trip suggests executive-level coordination as Shell balances a new oil discovery offshore Namibia — announced this week by Offshore Energy — against the twin pressures of a Middle East supply shock and mounting legal scrutiny over its Nigerian operations.