Shell sparked widespread criticism after announcing a move to stop reducing the amount of oil it produces until 2030 (Picture: Getty Images)

Slashing oil and gas production would be ‘dangerous and irresponsible’, the boss of Shell has claimed.

Chief executive Wael Sawan told the BBC the world still ‘desperately needs oil and gas’ because the switch to renewable energy is not happening fast enough to replace it.

He cautioned that energy bills could be sent soaring back towards last year’s highs if production is cut amid increasing demand from China and if we see another cold winter across Europe.

Mr Sawan told the BBC: ‘What would be dangerous and irresponsible is cutting oil and gas production so that the cost of living, as we saw last year, starts to shoot up again.’

He also did not rule out moving Shell’s UK headquarters and stock market listing to the US in the long term.

Mr Sawan’s come following several high-profile protests from Just Stop Oil, at Wimbledon, the Ashes and London’s Pride.

Shell recently sparked widespread criticism after announcing a move to stop reducing the amount of oil it produces until 2030.

Green campaigners slammed the group’s move as ‘utterly destructive’ after it dropped its plan to reduce oil production by between 1-2% each year of this decade.

England’s Jonny Bairstow removes a Just Stop Oil protester from the pitch during day one of the second Ashes test match (Picture: PA)

It declared victory, saying the target was reached eight years early after it sold off oil fields to others, who will extract that oil instead, with the controversial decision also coming as part of a plan to boost its share price.

A spokesman for Shell added: ‘Shell has already reduced its liquids production by 21% since 2019, and once we hit the stable production level we recently outlined, it will have fallen by 26%.

‘That represents a greater reduction than the initial 1-2% per year cuts we set out in 2021 would have achieved by 2030.’

Mr Sawan said poorer countries were at risk of being left behind in the transition to renewable energy, as they do not have the infrastructure to support it.

He said countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh were unable to afford Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) shipments in the bidding war for gas in last year’s crunch.

‘They took away LNG from those countries and children had to work and study by candlelight,” he said.

Shell are accused of ‘profiting from the misery of ordinary people’ (Picture: EPA)

‘If we’re going to have a transition it needs to be a just transition that doesn’t just work for one part of the world.’

Shell also cautioned that the higher taxes on profits made by oil and gas firms in the UK and the lack of clarity on energy policy risked making the UK a less attractive country in which to invest.

Jamie Peters, head of climate at Friends of the Earth, said: ‘It’s no surprise that a fossil fuel company like Shell wants to continue unabated extraction of oil and gas.

‘Let’s be clear, companies like Shell are fuelling both the climate crisis and the soaring cost of energy.

‘They are profiting from the misery of ordinary people while destroying the planet, and they’re making a cynical case to continue locking us into the volatile fossil fuel markets that are the root cause of the energy crisis.’

Oil giant Shell made nearly £1.4 billion more in profit than experts had expected in the first three months of the year.

Shell are accused of ‘profiting from the misery of ordinary people’.