Shell is conducting a review of its Australian operations that could result in job cuts at its Queensland Curtis LNG business, according to sources familiar with the matter, as CEO Wael Sawan continues a wide-ranging assessment of the company’s global portfolio following the post-Iran war oil price normalisation.
The QGC business, which operates the Queensland Curtis LNG facility on Curtis Island near Gladstone, is one of Shell’s largest LNG assets in the Asia Pacific region. The plant draws gas from coal seam gas fields across Queensland’s Surat and Bowen basins and exports LNG primarily to Asian buyers. It has operated since 2014 and is one of three LNG trains on Curtis Island alongside the APLNG and GLNG facilities.
The potential cuts come as Shell navigates a period of significant portfolio change. The company transferred most of its UK North Sea producing assets into the Adura joint venture with Equinor at the end of 2025, while simultaneously completing its $22 billion acquisition of ARC Resources in Canada to build a major position in the Montney gas formation. That acquisition, announced in April 2026, significantly increases Shell’s gas production and its exposure to LNG Canada, where it holds a 40% stake.
The combination of those strategic moves, alongside the gradual easing of global oil and LNG prices following the US-Iran peace agreement in June 2026, has sharpened the focus on cost efficiency across Shell’s operating businesses. LNG prices, which reached multi-year highs during the Hormuz closure, have begun to soften as the Strait has progressively reopened, reducing the windfall earnings that had temporarily supported margins across the integrated gas segment.
Shell has not confirmed the scale or timeline of any changes to its Australian workforce. The QGC business employs several hundred people across its Brisbane offices and operational facilities in Queensland. Any changes would be subject to consultation with employees and relevant unions under Australian employment law.
The review of the Australian business is part of a broader global simplification programme that Shell has been running since Sawan took the CEO role in 2023, targeting $2 to $3 billion in annual cost savings. The company has previously reduced headcount across its exploration, development and upstream divisions globally, and transferred staff to Adura as part of the UK North Sea joint venture.
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