London (CNN Business)Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA) says its oil production peaked in 2019 and that its carbon emissions are in decline, as it detailed plans to wean itself off fossil fuels.
The Anglo-Dutch company said in a statement on Thursday that it expects its oil production to decline by between 1% and 2% each year. Its total carbon emissions likely peaked in 2018, it added. “Our accelerated strategy will drive down carbon emissions,” said CEO Ben van Beurden. “Whether our customers are motorists, households or businesses, we will use our global scale and trusted brand to grow in markets where demand for cleaner products and services is strongest, delivering more predictable cash flows and generating higher returns,” he added.
Shell unveiled plans in September to become a net zero emissions business by 2050 (including from its own products and those that it sells), joining European rivals BP (BP) and Total (TOT) in making a dramatic shift towards clean energy. The oil giants have written off billions of dollars of assets, spurred on by forecasts that global oil demand may never recover to levels reached before the pandemic.In the near term, however, Shell will continue to pour around $8 billion a year into oil exploration and pumping, it said Thursday. It plans to invest $2 billion to $3 billion annually into renewables and hydrogen, with around $8 billion to $9 billion going towards integrated gas and chemicals.Read More”Shell’s aim is to build material low-carbon businesses of significant scale by the early 2030s,” the company said, adding that capital spending would shift to clean energy over time.The company wants to sell twice as much electricity as it sells today by 2030, and grow its global electric vehicle network from more than 60,000 charge points today to around 500,000 by 2025.
Shell said it will give shareholders an advisory vote on its Energy Transition Plan, adding that it is the first company in the sector to do so.— This is a developing story and will be updated.
Source: edition.cnn.com