Shell has agreed to sell its 80% stake in the 1.25 gigawatt MunmuBaram project off the coast of Ulsan to its joint venture partner Hexicon, the two companies said.

Hexicon will pay Shell $5 million and an additional $50 million in a profit sharing agreement over three years after the project starts, the Stockholm-listed company said.

The offshore wind sector has come under heavy investor scrutinyin recent months as supply chain costs soared and turbines faced technical problems, leading to project cancellations and heavy writedowns.

Floating offshore wind is expected to see explosive growth in the coming decades but it remains small scale due to much higher costs compared with fixed-bottom wind farms.

Shell sold its stakes in several floating offshore wind projects in recent years, including in Ireland and France, as CEO Wael Sawan sharpens the company's focus on the most profitable businesses.

Shell today has more than 2.1 GW of offshore wind capacity in operation and over 9 GW of potential projects around the world, according to its website.

After the exit from the South Korean project, it will continue to hold stakes in floating offshore projects in Norway and the British North Sea.

(Reporting by Ron Bousso; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

By Ron Bousso