Shell Plans to Grow Charge Points and Shrink Refining Capacity

Shell’s plan includes investing U.S. $100 million per year in what it calls “nature-based solutions” to protect or redevelop forests, wetlands and grasslands to capture atmospheric carbon. It also intends on reducing gasoline and diesel production by 55% over the next decade by shedding refineries and turning six of them into high-value energy and chemicals parks.

“These energy and chemical parks will be highly integrated with our trading and optimization business, along with our standalone chemicals sites,” a spokesperson told Lubes’n’Greases. “We will produce more low-carbon fuels, including biofuels, hydrogen, performance chemicals … and develop lubricants to power EVs.”

The sites include Deer Park and Norco in the U.S., Pernis in the Netherlands, Singapore, Rheinland in Germany and Scotford in Canada. 

Shell’s expansion of recharging points will be done by New Motions, Greenlots and Ubricity, all of them part of Shell Group.

“This includes EV charging points at Shell retail service stations, operated new locations and charge points owned by customers or third parties. New locations could include on the street, mobility hubs, public places and so on,” the spokesperson said.

According to its net-zero strategy, the company is planning to develop a significantly larger renewable energy generation portfolio, a larger carbon offset plan, continued development of hydrogen and natural gas assets while cutting oil production by 1% to 2% per year, and investing heavily in carbon capture and storage.

“It may happen even sooner, including all of the energy products we supply to our customers. So we will be supplying more renewable energy. Today, we produce about one-third of the oil and gas we sell to our customers. The principle will be the same for renewable energy. Some we will generate ourselves (as we already are in a significant way through wind and solar), and we will also buy power from renewable generators which we will sell on to our customers along with other products,” the spokesperson said.

Ben van Beurden, Royal Dutch Shell’s CEO, in a statement given during the Shell Strategy Day presentation on Feb. 11, said that the company’s business strategy and sustainability are integrated with four main goals – generate shareholder value, net-zero emission, respect nature and powering lives.

“Our net-zero target supports the most ambitious goal of the UN Paris Agreement of [limiting global warming to] 1.5 degrees Celsius [above the pre-industrial level]. This means we have to transform our business, working with our customers and others in sectors that are difficult to decarbonize. That includes aviation, shipping, road freight and industry,” van Beurden said.

The company confirmed that – unlike its foray into the development of a fuel-efficient internal combustion engine, which was featured in the Project M urban concept car unveiled in 2015 – the company is not looking further into development of its own EV.

“We are not planning to develop EVs, but charge points and lubricants to power such vehicles,” the spokesperson said.