The New York Times

Shell, the Oil Giant, Will Sell Renewable Energy to Texans

The European oil company has been expanding into green energy even as many U.S. energy giants have kept their focus on fossil fuels.

By Clifford Krauss and Ivan Penn: June 7, 2022 Updated 3:13 p.m. ET

HOUSTON — Shell said on Tuesday that it would begin selling electricity generated from renewable sources to residents and businesses in Texas, a move that brings the European oil company’s shift to green energy to the U.S. market.

The announcement underscores a widening gulf between the strategies of European and U.S. oil companies as elected leaders and consumers demand that the energy industry do more to tackle climate change. European businesses including Shell, BP and TotalEnergies are seeking to expand into renewable energy, electric vehicle charging and other fast-growing businesses as U.S. companies like Exxon Mobil and Chevron mostly keep their focus on oil and gas while investing in capturing carbon from industrial plants and biofuels.

Shell, which already has electricity businesses in nine countries, plans to double the amount of electricity it sells by 2030. The company, which is based in London, is Europe’s largest oil and gas business by revenue and has operations in more than 70 countries, including gas stations, refineries and oil and gas fields. read more

The New York Times

Oil Giants Sell Dirty Wells to Buyers With Looser Climate Goals, Study Finds

The transactions can help major oil and gas companies clean up their own production by transferring polluting assets to a different firm, the analysis said.

By Hiroko Tabuchi: May 10, 2022

When Royal Dutch Shell sold off its stake in the Umuechem oil field in Nigeria last year, it was, on paper, a step forward for the company’s climate ambitions: Shell could clean up its holdings, raise money to invest in cleaner technologies, and move toward its goal of net zero emissions by 2050. read more

The New York Times

Shell says it expects to lose up to $5 billion for pulling out of Russia.

In an update to investors, the oil company projected a huge financial hit from its exposure to Russia.

By Marie Solis and Jason Karaian: April 7, 2022, 8:09 a.m. ET

The estimate, detailed in an update to Shell shareholders, is among the largest publicly announced financial hits by any of the hundreds of companies that have curtailed their operations in Russia or withdrawn entirely since its invasion of Ukraine. read more

The New York Times

Shell pulls out of a U.K. oil field targeted by climate activists.

By Stanley Reed Dec. 2, 2021

Royal Dutch Shell said Thursday that it had decided not to invest in a British oil development off the coast of Scotland that has become a test of the government’s environmental credentials.

The field, known as Cambo, is in deep water northwest of the Shetland Islands. It is seen as a bellwether for the future of Britain’s declining but still large North Sea oil industry.

The British government is considering whether to approve the project, which environmental groups and some politicians have said should be rejected because it would produce carbon dioxide emissions responsible for climate change. read more

The New York Times

Royal Dutch Shell is selling its Permian Basin oil holdings to ConocoPhillips for $9.5 billion.

By Clifford Krauss: Sept. 20, 2021 Updated 5:49 p.m. ET

HOUSTON — Royal Dutch Shell sold its oil and gas production in the Permian Basin, the biggest American oil field, to ConocoPhillips for $9.5 billion in cash on Monday.

The deal marks a turning point for Shell, which had put considerable effort into developing the 225,000-acre field since buying it from Chesapeake Energy nine years ago, expanding its production to about 200,000 barrels a day. read more

The New York Times

House Panel Expands Inquiry Into Climate Disinformation by Oil Giants

Image from Amnesty International UK

IMAGE SOURCE: Slick PR can’t disguise Shell’s devastating oil pollution in Nigeria

ARTICLE FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES

The Fisherwomen, Chevron and the Leaking Pipe

By Ruth Maclean July 25, 2021, 3:00 a.m. ET

Oil companies like Chevron, Shell and Eni have made billions in profits in the vast Niger Delta region in the last decades. But now some are pulling out — and they are leaving utter ruin in their wake, according to government monitors and environmental and human rights organizations. The delicate ecosystem of the Niger Delta, once teeming with plant and animal life, is today one of the most polluted places on the planet. read more

The New York Times

Lawmaker Threatens to Subpoena Exxon After Secret Video

The chairman of a powerful House subcommittee said he is seeking answers from Exxon and other oil and gas giants over their role in spreading disinformation on climate change.

By Hiroko Tabuchi and Lisa Friedman

The chairman of a House subcommittee is demanding that executives of Exxon Mobil Corp., Shell, Chevron and other major oil and gas companies testify before Congress about the industry’s decades-long effort to wage disinformation campaigns around climate change. read more

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Behind Shell’s strategy to get into green energy.

June 21, 2021, 8:07 a.m. ET

Ben van Beurden, the chief executive of Royal Dutch Shell, has been talking about the need to cut emissions since 2017. In the view of some, though, Shell has dragged its feet.

The company’s clean energy investments since 2016 add up to $3.2 billion, Stanley Reed reports for The New York Times, while it has spent about $84 billion on oil and gas exploration and development, according to estimates by Bernstein, a research firm.

“You cannot claim to be in transition when you only invest” such a small percentage of capital in new businesses, said Mark van Baal, founder of Follow This, a Dutch investor activist group. read more

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Shell Gets Greener, Even as Climate Advocates Say, ‘Go Faster’

Royal Dutch Shell, though still reliant on profits from fossil fuels, is investing more in renewable energy. Critics say the changes have to come quicker.

By Stanley Reed June 18, 2021

Like other oil giants, Shell is under pressure to move away from climate-damaging fossil fuels, and it is recasting itself as more of a renewable energy company, looking for investments as it sidles toward a new future.

Limejump is the type of business that catches the eye of Shell executives these days. With 80 software engineers, traders and forecasters, the company buys electricity from 675 wind farms, solar installations and other mostly renewable generators scattered across Britain, and sells it to businesses that want their energy to be green. read more

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Shell says a court ruling on greenhouse gases will speed up its plans to cut emissions.

By Stanley Reed: June 9, 2021

Royal Dutch Shell will respond to a recent defeat in a Dutch court by accelerating its efforts to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions, the company’s leader said Wednesday.

Ben van Beurden, the chief executive of Shell, said that he was “disappointed” by the ruling requiring the oil company, Europe’s largest, to move faster in slashing greenhouse gases, but added that the company was planning to do just that.

“For Shell, this ruling does not mean a change but rather an acceleration of our strategy,” Mr. van Beurden said in an article published on LinkedIn. “We will seek ways to reduce emissions even further in a way that remains purposeful and profitable,” he added. read more

THE NEW YORK TIMES

A Week of Big Blows for Big Oil

Two victories by environmental activists added to the uncertainty surrounding the industry and Canada’s oil sands.

By Ian Austen: May 29, 2021

For environmentalists, it was a week of victories. For the oil and gas companies they vanquished, as well as Alberta and the other parts of Canada that rely on the energy industry, the week brought new uncertainties.

But environmentalists also dealt a blow to one of those European oil companies, Royal Dutch Shell, this week. A Dutch court ruled that Shell was “obliged” to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of its activities by 45 percent by the end of 2030, compared with 2019 levels. Shell had already announced a 2050 target for reaching net zero emissions, but the decision, if upheld, will force it to speed up its efforts. read more

THE NEW YORK TIMES

A Dutch court rules that Shell must step up its climate change efforts.

27 June 2021

A Dutch court ruled Wednesday that Royal Dutch Shell, Europe’s largest oil company, must accelerate its efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to tackle climate change.

The District Court in The Hague ruled that Shell was “obliged” to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of its activities by 45 percent at the end of 2030 compared with 2019.

Shell has already adopted targets for emissions reduction, but the terms of the court’s decision could require the company to substantially accelerate the process of reducing emissions-producing fuels like oil and gas. read more

Shell, in a Turning Point, Says Its Oil Production Has Peaked

Europe’s largest oil and gas producer said oil production would gradually decline 1 or 2 percent annually, underscoring the company’s desire to shift to greener energy.

By Stanley Reed: Feb, 11, 2021

Royal Dutch Shell on Thursday made the boldest statement among its peers about the waning of the oil age, saying its production reached a high in 2019 and is now likely to gradually decline.

Shell’s “total oil production peaked in 2019” and will now drop 1 or 2 percent annually, the company said in a statement. read more

A Victory for Farmers in a David-and-Goliath Environmental Case

An appeals court said that a small group of farmers in the Niger Delta region whose livelihoods were affected by oil spills in 2006 and 2007 should receive payouts.

By Elian Peltier and Claire Moses: Jan. 29, 2021Updated 11:52 a.m. ET

A Dutch court on Friday ruled that a subsidiary of the giant British-Dutch multinational Royal Dutch Shell was liable for oil spills in the Niger Delta in Nigeria in 2006 and 2007, ordering the company to compensate a small group of residents in the region and to start purifying contaminated waters within weeks. read more

Nigeria protests target Shell in UK, Netherlands

Activists have mounted demonstrations at Shell’s headquarters in London and The Hague, in protest over the killings of the Ogoni 9 in Nigeria, 25 years ago.

Eight activists from Extinction Rebellion Rotterdam climbed a Shell storage tank in Pernis. A spokesman for the group, Marjolein: “Although Shell is obliged to clean up the oil, they appear to be failing to deliver on their promises as always. That is why today we protest at one of Europe’s largest oil refineries: to show that Shell cannot get away with this and to encourage the people in the Ogoni area. ” read more