Posted by John Donovan: 5 Dec 2024
In a breathtaking display of corporate greed dressed up as “strategic review,” Shell—the world’s favourite villain in the game of Destroy the Planet for Profit—has decided it’s no longer interested in leading the transition to clean energy. Why? Because it turns out offshore wind doesn’t print money fast enough for CEO Wael Sawan, whose vision for the future seems to be a fossil-fueled inferno of record profits.
Let’s break this down. Shell, once pretending to dabble in saving the planet with its renewable energy division, is now gutting it for parts. Shell Energy—the division responsible for renewables, power generation, and supply—is being hacked into two Frankenstein-like units: power generation and trading. Because, hey, why bother with innovation when you can shuffle papers and call it a strategy?
In an astounding statement that could be paraphrased as “We’ll save the planet if it’s profitable enough,” Shell declared, “While we will not lead new offshore wind developments, we remain interested in offtakes where commercial terms are acceptable and are cautiously open to equity positions if there is a compelling investment case.” Translation? Offshore wind is only worth their time if they can rake in obscene profits. Otherwise, they’ll stick to what they know best: drilling holes in the Earth and our future.
The “pivot” to ditch offshore wind and focus on high-return oil, gas, and biofuels is part of Shell’s 2023 review. Spoiler alert: “High-return” is code for doubling down on polluting industries because renewable energy isn’t delivering the gold rush Shell’s billionaire shareholders—like BlackRock and Vanguard—are used to. Heaven forbid they settle for merely obscene wealth instead of planetary domination.
This isn’t Shell’s first dance with abandoning offshore wind projects. The company has already ghosted wind projects in South Korea and the United States. Apparently, spiralling costs, supply chain issues, and rising interest rates were all the excuses Shell needed to stop pretending it cared about the energy transition.
Meanwhile, as the world grapples with the consequences of climate change—raging wildfires, drowning cities, mass extinctions—Shell is busy tweaking its spreadsheets to maximize shareholder returns. Because nothing says “responsible corporate citizen” like sacrificing the planet to pad investor pockets.
Oh, and let’s not forget Shell’s decades of experience in offshore oil and gas production—a skill set that could have been a game-changer for renewable energy. Instead, they’re using that expertise to dig us deeper into the climate crisis. Bravo, Shell. Truly inspiring.
At this point, Shell’s slogan should just be: Burn Baby Burn—But Only If the ROI is Right.
This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
EBOOK TITLE: “SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
EBOOK TITLE: “JOHN DONOVAN, SHELL’S NIGHTMARE: MY EPIC FEUD WITH THE UNSCRUPULOUS OIL GIANT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
EBOOK TITLE: “TOXIC FACTS ABOUT SHELL REMOVED FROM WIKIPEDIA: HOW SHELL BECAME THE MOST HATED BRAND IN THE WORLD” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
