London, February 20, 2026, 07:44 GMT — Premarket

• Shell said fresh U.S. general licences for Venezuelan oil and gas exploration clear the way for its Dragon gas project to proceed.
• Shell climbed 1.46% to 2,944 pence on Thursday, notching a fresh 52-week high even as the FTSE 100 slipped.
• Oil hovered close to six-month peaks Friday, with U.S.-Iran tensions continuing to inject a risk premium into crude.

Shell (SHEL.L) says the new U.S. general licenses for Venezuelan oil and gas, rolled out this month, mean the company can finally move forward on its long-stuck Dragon natural gas project. That field, estimated at roughly 4.5 trillion cubic feet of reserves, is intended to supply Trinidad’s Atlantic LNG…