S&P downgrades Shell's long-term debt on risks from energy transition

One of the world's top credit rating agencies downgraded Royal Dutch Shell's long-term debt on the back of the expected challenges from the transition to sustainable technologies.

S&P Global Ratings lowered its rating for Shell's long-term debt from AA- to A+.

Nevertheless, S&P did remove them from CreditWatch and said that the outlook for the rating was 'stable'.

The downgrade followed S&P's recent decision to revise its risk assessment for the broader oil and gas industry from intermediate to moderately high.

It cited the increasing risks from the energy transition, the weak profitability of firms in the sector and the greater volatility in oil and gas prices as the reasons for the move.