HOUSTON — (Dec. 9, 2019) — Rice University has launched Carbon Hub, a major research initiative to create a zero-emissions future in which oil and natural gas provide both clean energy and advanced materials that help house, move, clothe and feed people.

Inaugurated by Shell with a $10 million commitment, Carbon Hub will partner with companies to fundamentally change how the world uses hydrocarbons. Instead of burning them as fuel and releasing carbon dioxide, hydrocarbons will be split to make clean-burning hydrogen fuel and solid carbon materials that can be used to make buildings, cars, clothing and more. read more

The oil company is posing as a climate champion, but critics call it greenwashing.

BY CHRISTINE MACDONALD

MADRID—A few dozen activists had packed a cramped meeting room at the UN climate negotiations, where executives from Shell Oil, Chevron and BP were to speak about their plans to tackle carbon emissions. Just as Shell executive Duncan van Bergen took the mic, the activists stood up solemnly and put their hands over their ears, slowly filing out of the room in protest of what they saw as false solutions.

Van Bergen was talking about the company’s high-profile but controversial new initiatives to invest in natural ecosystems to help reduce its own carbon footprint and that of its customers. The company has also signed on to a new “markets for natural climate solutions,” spearheaded by the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), a trade association representing many of the world’s biggest polluters (including the three aforementioned oil giants). read more

Shell Energy signs solar PPA for energy produced by EDF California project

Rod Walton: 4 Dec

EDF Renewables North America and Shell Energy North America have signed a 15-year power purchase agreement for 132 MW of solar output in Riverside County, California.

The Maverick 7 project is part of the Palen Solar site to be built on 3,140 acres of federal lands. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management completed the federal permitting process approving the project in October 2018.

The project is expected to be completed and operational by the end of 2021.

“Palen Solar, with a total of 500 MW of solar capacity, demonstrates EDF Renewables’ long-term commitment to solar development in California,” said Dai Owen, vice president of power marketing for EDF Renewables. “The project uniquely positions the company to help load-serving entities meet their long-term carbon goals and obligations under California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) by offering smaller tranches at industry-leading prices.” read more

An Oil Giant Plans for Climate Change

Shell is test-driving a number of eco-friendly business models before deciding which one to buy into read more

November 26 2019, 12:01am, The Times

Royal Dutch Shell has suffered a setback in its push into green energy after losing out to Mitsubishi in the €4 billion battle for a Dutch power utility.

The Anglo-Dutch energy group had been pursuing the acquisition of Eneco in a joint bid with PGGM, a Dutch pension fund service provider, but it was beaten yesterday by the Japanese conglomerate.

Maarten Wetselaar, head of Shell’s “new energies” division, said that he was “disappointed” but would continue to look for other opportunities in the transition to greener energy. read more

Shell to Continue Search in Renewables After Losing Eneco Tender

By Reuters

Nov. 25, 2019, 6:01 a.m. ET

LONDON — Royal Dutch Shell said on Monday it was disappointed to lose a tender for Dutch renewable energy business Eneco which went to a group led by Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp for 4.1 billion euros ($4.52 billion).

The Anglo-Dutch oil and gas company said in a statement it “will continue to look for opportunities in the energy transition” and aims to invest $2 to $3 billion per year from 2021 onwards.

(Reporting by Ron Bousso; editing by Jason Neely) read more

Reading uni cuts fossil fuel investments by more than half

By Alex Seabrook Local Democracy Reporter: 6th November 2019

THE University of Reading (UoR) has cut its investment in fossil fuels by more than half in the past year – after pressure from students.

The university’s £63million endowment fund now has £729,575 invested in Royal Dutch Shell.

That’s according to financial statements recently published, which show what the fund is invested in as of July 31.

Last year, the university had £2,628,305 in fossil fuels, as of July 31, 2018, according to the previous statements. read more

Shell floating wind deal ‘sensible’ but won’t herald investment revolution, analyst says

by David McPhee: 06/11/2019, 7:15 am Updated: 06/11/2019, 7:35 am

The timing of oil giant Shell’s decision to acquire French floating wind firm Eolfi is “very sensible”, but isn’t likely to herald a revolution in how it invests its money, according to a top energy expert.

Adam Forsyth, head analyst at Longspur Research, said that while he considers the move to be a wise investment for Shell, he’s not entirely convinced that a great number of super-majors will follow.

He said: “It seems very sensible for Shell to be making this acquisition. read more

Shell has given £6m to fund the work of the university’s magnetic resonance research group amid a concerted campaign by students and staff to persuade the university to sever its links with extractive industries.

Cambridge University has accepted a multimillion-pound donation from Shell to fund a team researching oil extraction technology, even as it publicly positions itself as part of the transition to a sustainable future.

Shell has given £6m to fund the work of the university’s magnetic resonance research group amid a concerted campaign by students and staff to persuade the university to sever its links with extractive industries.

Sinead Lynch, the chair of Shell UK, has been invited to join the panel at a policy-making workshop on Monday. Environmental campaigners at Cambridge have raised questions about potential links between the donation and the invitation. read more

Financial Times: Energy majors eye swifter shift to green

David Sheppard, Energy Editor

Extracts

This week brings quarterly results from the world’s biggest energy companies. Some will beat expectations, some will miss, and after a brief flurry of algo-driven share price adjustment your average investor will carry on hating oil stocks, regardless.

John Browne, the former BP chief, said last week that it felt like the energy transition was “collapsing in time”, with changes towards cleaner energy that were once expected to take decades now being demanded by the public — and increasingly investors — within years. read more

20 October 2019: The Sunday Times

What seemed like the perfect route to a low-carbon world now looks like a risky bet, writes John Collingridge

What do the former Redcar steelworks on Teesside, a university in the Midlands and forests in the Scottish Highlands have in common? Answer: Big Oil is praying they hold the key to its future.

Strikes by schoolchildren, the rise of “flight-shaming” and an exodus of investors have left the energy industry reeling. Oil giants’ multibillion-pound bet — that gas will power the global economy into a low-carbon future — now looks risky.

As the mood changes, Big Oil is making increasingly ambitious — and desperate — attempts to clean itself up and reduce or trap carbon emissions. For giants including Shell, Total and BP, that means carbon capture and storage (CCS) at Redcar, promoting hydrogen as an alternative fuel, such as a pilot at Keele University — and even planting forests in Scotland. read more

AMBROSE EVANS-PRITCHARD: 25 OCTOBER 2019

The arch-sceptics of the International Energy Agency have embraced offshore wind, saying it can meet the world’s entire electricity demand 11 times over even when zones are set aside for uses such as shipping, defence and fishing. “Its potential is vast,” said the IEA report released on Friday.

Europe and North America can meet their needs three times over from shallow waters close to shore, as can much of South America, Russia, and New Zealand.

This leaves plenty spare to make green hydrogen from electrolysis that can be used for back-up power, heat, transport for rail, trucks and ships, and the production of zero-carbon steel, cement and glass. read more

By Kelly Gilblom: 22 October 2019, 00:01 BST

Group of 300 British lawmakers seeking fossil fuel divestment

Dumping shares could restrict companies’ access to new capital

A group of 300 British politicians are pushing the trustees of the Parliamentary Pension Fund to sell shares of BP Plc and Royal Dutch Shell Plc to ward off the risks of climate change.

The group, organized by environmental non-profit 350.org, adds to pressure on the fossil fuel industry. Over the last two weeks, climate change activists from the group Extinction Rebellion have disrupted London by blocking roads and climbing on commercial airplanes. Just weeks before that, an estimated 7.6 million people globally took to the streets to protest continually rising emissions. read more

Shell is planning to be the first fuel retailer in the UK to take out traditional fuels from an operating service station and replace them with an electric vehicle-only charging hub.

Application for planning permission for the development on the company’s site in Fulham, West London, will be put forward at the end of this month, with the hope and expectation that the hub will be operational by the middle of next year.

The announcement comes as Shell celebrates the installation of its 50th UK EV charging point, and the installation of the first 150kW post on a service station. read more

Harry Dempsey in London

Shareholder initiatives, climate protests and government net zero targets are all piling pressure on Big Oil to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by shifting towards renewable energy. Critics have condemned the industry’s response as insufficient, with even the most progressive oil majors devoting only a fraction of their research and development expenditure to low carbon tech. Royal Dutch Shell, for example, has said it is investing about 10 per cent of its $1bn annual R&D budget on renewables and less than a quarter on what it defines as low-carbon initiatives such as hydrogen, and biofuels. read more

But in an interview with Reuters, Ben van Beurden expressed concern that some shareholders could abandon the world’s second-largest listed energy company due partly to what he called the “demonisation” of oil and gas and “unjustified” worries that its business model was unsustainable.

The 61-year-old Dutch executive in recent years became one of the sector’s most prominent voices advocating action over global warming in the wake of the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

Shell, which supplies around 3% of the world’s energy, set out in 2017 a plan to halve the intensity of its greenhouse emissions by the middle of the century, based in large part on building one of the world’s biggest power businesses. read more