Capital expenditure and portfolio

Cash capital expenditure

Cash capital expenditure in 2022 was $4,265 million, compared with $3,502 million in 2021. The increase was mainly due to investment in the North Field East expansion project in Qatar. Our cash capital expenditure is expected to be around $5 billion in 2023.

Portfolio and business development

Key portfolio events included the following:

• Shell announced in the first quarter 2022 its intent to withdraw from its ventures in Russia with Gazprom and related entities, and to end its involvement in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. See Note 6 for the actions we have taken since these announcements and for the impact on the consolidated financial statements.
• In March 2022, we produced first gas from Block 22 and NCMA-4 in the North Coast Marine Area in Trinidad and Tobago.
• In May 2022, Shell Australia Pty Ltd and its joint-venture partner, SGH Energy, took a final investment decision to approve the development of the Crux natural gas field, off the coast of Western Australia, which will be processed through the Prelude FLNG facility.
• In July 2022, QatarEnergy selected us to participate in the North Field East (NFE) expansion project in Qatar. In December 2022, QatarEnergy and Shell closed the transaction resulting in Shell purchasing 25% of the shareholding in a joint venture (JV) which owns a 25% interest in the overall NFE project. Thus, Shell’s ownership of NFE via its JV shareholding is 6.25%.
• In October 2022, we were also selected as a partner in the North Field South (NFS) project (Shell interest 9.375%). Shell participation in the NFS project remains subject to clearance of remaining customary conditions precedent.