LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, July 02, 2024: Shell Nederland Raffinaderij B.V., a subsidiary of Shell plc, is to temporarily pause on-site construction work at its 820,000 tonnes a year biofuels facility at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam in the Netherlands to address project delivery and ensure future competitiveness given current market conditions.
As a result, contractor numbers will reduce on site and activity will slow down, helping to control costs and optimise project sequencing.
“Temporarily pausing on-site construction now will allow us to assess the most commercial way forward for the project,” said Huibert Vigeveno, Shell’s Downstream, Renewables and Energy Solutions Director.
“We are committed to our target of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, with low-carbon fuels as a key part of Shell’s strategy to help us and our customers profitably decarbonise,” added Vigeveno. “And we will continue to use shareholder capital in a measured and disciplined way, delivering more value with less emissions.”
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Notes to editors
- Following the decision to pause on-site construction, an impairment review will be conducted for this project. Further guidance will be included in Shell’s second quarter update note scheduled for publication on Friday, July 5, 2024.
- Shell took a final investment decision for the planned biofuels facility in September 2021. The facility is designed to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel made from waste. Additional information regarding project status and timelines will be communicated in future updates.
- Shell is one of the world’s largest energy traders and blenders of biofuels. Through its Raizen joint venture in Brazil, Shell is the largest producer of second-generation ethanol and the leading sugar cane ethanol producer globally.
- As announced at Capital Markets Day in June 2023, Shell plans to invest $10-$15 billion across 2023-2025 to support the development of low-carbon energy solutions including e-mobility, low-carbon fuels, renewable power generation, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage.
Cautionary note
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Forward-looking statements
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Shell’s Net Carbon Intensity
Also, in this announcement we may refer to Shell’s “Net Carbon Intensity” (NCI), which includes Shell’s carbon emissions from the production of our energy products, our suppliers’ carbon emissions in supplying energy for that production and our customers’ carbon emissions associated with their use of the energy products we sell. Shell’s NCI also includes the emissions associated with the production and use of energy products produced by others which Shell purchases for resale. Shell only controls its own emissions. The use of the terms Shell’s “Net Carbon Intensity” or NCI are for convenience only and not intended to suggest these emissions are those of Shell plc or its subsidiaries.
Shell’s net-zero emissions target
Shell’s operating plan, outlook and budgets are forecasted for a ten-year period and are updated every year. They reflect the current economic environment and what we can reasonably expect to see over the next ten years. Accordingly, they reflect our Scope 1, Scope 2 and NCI targets over the next ten years. However, Shell’s operating plans cannot reflect our 2050 net-zero emissions target, as this target is currently outside our planning period. In the future, as society moves towards net-zero emissions, we expect Shell’s operating plans to reflect this movement. However, if society is not net zero in 2050, as of today, there would be significant risk that Shell may not meet this target.
Forward-Looking non-GAAP measures
This announcement may contain certain forward-looking non-GAAP measures such as cash capital expenditure and divestments. We are unable to provide a reconciliation of these forward-looking non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures because certain information needed to reconcile those non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures is dependent on future events some of which are outside the control of Shell, such as oil and gas prices, interest rates and exchange rates. Moreover, estimating such GAAP measures with the required precision necessary to provide a meaningful reconciliation is extremely difficult and could not be accomplished without unreasonable effort. Non-GAAP measures in respect of future periods which cannot be reconciled to the most comparable GAAP financial measure are calculated in a manner which is consistent with the accounting policies applied in Shell plc’s consolidated financial statements.
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