Shell has recently released its first progress report on energy transition, after the implementation of its Powering Progress strategy in 2021.

During the Capital Markets Day event in June 2023, Shell emphasized how its strategy is designed to generate more value while producing fewer emissions, with a particular emphasis on the “more value” aspect.

This energy transition update focuses on how the strategy effectively delivers “fewer emissions.”

Shell aims to achieve net-zero emissions across all operations and energy products by 2050, which marks a significant shift for the business.

The company is confident that this commitment aligns with the ambitious objectives of the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Shell’s approach advocates for a balanced and orderly transition from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy solutions, ensuring that energy remains secure and affordable.

According to Wael Sawan, Shell’s CEO, “Energy has significantly contributed to human progress, enabling many worldwide to lead more prosperous lives. Currently, the global community faces the dual challenge of meeting increased energy demands while addressing the pressing issue of climate change. The swift advancements in energy transition observed in recent years across various countries and technologies bolster my firm belief in our strategic direction.”

Sawan further remarked, “Our investment of $10-15bn between 2023 and 2025 in low-carbon energy solutions positions us as a major player in the energy transition.

“Moreover, in 2023, our expenditure on low-carbon solutions reached $5.6bn, accounting for over 23% of our total capital investment” He added.

Shell’s investments in emerging technologies, including electric vehicle charging infrastructure, biofuels, renewable energy, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage, are instrumental in reducing emissions for both Shell and its customers.

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The company aims to scale these technologies to ensure they become an economical option for consumers.

Shell’s advocacy efforts are now focused on pivotal areas deemed essential for the energy transition, such as supporting policies that align with national net-zero goals, including carbon pricing, providing the secure energy supply the world requires, influencing demand shifts, and expanding low-carbon solutions.

In 2023, Shell surpassed 60% of its objective to cut emissions from its operations in half by 2030, relative to its 2016 levels.

This exceeds the commitments made by the signatories of the Oil and Gas Decarbonization Charter established at COP28.

Shell was among the pioneers in setting a goal for near-zero methane emissions by 2030.

In 2023, the company attained a methane emissions intensity of just 0.05%, well below its target of 0.2%. Additionally, Shell contributed to the World Bank’s Global Flaring and Methane Reduction Fund in 2023, further endorsing collective efforts to minimize methane emissions and flaring.

“In 2023, we met our objective to lower the net carbon intensity of the energy products we offer, achieving a 6.3% reduction from 2016 levels – marking the third year in a row we’ve reached our goal,” Sawan observed. “To further the decarbonization of the transport sector, we’ve set a new goal to reduce emissions from the use of our oil products by 15-20% by 2030, in comparison to 2021 divs.

He exclaimed that “We are expanding our power business, including renewable energy ventures, in regions such as Australia, Europe, India, and the USA, and have ceased direct energy supply to residential homes in Europe.”

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Saudi Arabia has recently increased its stake in oil giant Aramco by transferring an 8% stake to the Public Investment Fund.

With this move, the PIF’s direct and indirect holding in Aramco has doubled, which is a part of the kingdom’s plan to reduce its reliance on oil and diversify its economy.

According to LSEG data, this stake is worth around $163.6 billion based on Aramco’s current market capitalization.

The PIF already owned a 4% stake in Aramco, which was directly transferred in 2022, and another 4% indirectly transferred to Sanabil, which is wholly owned by PIF.

Reuters had previously reported that Saudi Arabia is planning to sell more shares of Aramco, which will help finance the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 program. Aramco raised a record $29.4 billion from its initial public offering before the pandemic.

The PIF declined to comment on which entities the shares would be transferred to. However, the transfer is in line with Saudi Arabia’s long-term initiatives to diversify the national economy, expand investment opportunities, and boost the country’s economy.

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According to the state news agency SPA, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who chairs PIF, stated that “the transfer will also solidify PIF’s strong financial position and credit rating.”

PIF is the centerpiece of the de facto ruler’s ambitious plan to diversify the economy by building “giga projects” and new industries.

It has transformed from a sleepy sovereign investor into a global investment vehicle that makes multi-billion-dollar bets on various sectors such as technology and sports.

PIF invested $31.5 billion last year, making it the world’s top spending sovereign wealth fund. Before the new transfer, it had roughly $700 billion in assets under management.

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ADNOC, the oil and gas company, has announced that it has generated $500 million (AED1.84 billion) in value by integrating over 30 Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools across its full value chain, from field operations to corporate decision-making.

This has also helped to reduce up to 1 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions between 2022 and 2023, which is equivalent to removing around 200,000 gasoline-powered cars from the road.

The company has been successful in integrating AI across its operations, including the use of AI applications in mapping subsurface resources, optimizing drilling, production activity, smarter reservoir management and in the Centralized Predictive Analytics and Diagnostics (CPAD) program, which remotely monitors critical operational equipment.

The use of AI has also helped in reducing the frequency of unplanned shutdowns and streamlined routine maintenance activities, while simultaneously improving operational efficiency.

AI is also supporting ADNOC’s net zero by 2045 ambition and its target to achieve near-zero methane emissions by 2030.

Tools like Emission X and SMART are being used to predict emission sources up to five years in advance and detect safety hazards across industrial and operational environments respectively.

ADNOC’s AI deployment has been a significant milestone in its strategy to develop and deploy pioneering technologies, such as AI, robotic automation, and advanced data analytics, and marks the start of a multi-year program to accelerate the deployment of AI solutions across its value chain to enhance safety while driving down emissions and driving up value.

The announcement was made at ADNOC’s Leadership Forum, where employees gathered to discuss strategic priorities and initiatives that will help the company deliver on its mandate to transform, decarbonize, and future-proof and ensure a secure, reliable, and responsible supply of energy.

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The Sultanate of Oman generated 6.6% more electricity with 41,591.2 gigawatts per hour in November 2023 compared to 39,030.5 gigawatts per hour in the same period of 2022.

According to statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the governorates of North and South Al Batinah and Al Dhahirah in Oman collectively produced 26,542 gigawatts per hour of electricity. Additionally, the Al Dakhiliyah Governorate saw the highest increase in electricity generation, with a growth of 96.9% and reaching 164.4 gigawatts per hour.

Total electricity generation in Muscat Governorate increased by 55.2%, reaching 560.3 GWh. Dhofar Governorate saw a 13.5% rise, reaching 4,362.1 GWh.

The total electricity generation in the North and South Al Sharqiyah Governorates has increased by 8.5 percent, reaching 9,321.1 gigawatts per hour. However, in the Al Wusta Governorate, the total electricity generation has decreased by 28.1 percent, reaching 187.4 gigawatts per hour. On the other hand, in the Musandam Governorate, the total electricity generation has increased by 6.2 percent, recording 453.9 gigawatts per hour.

According to the statistics, net electricity generation in Oman increased by 6.8% to reach 40,344.6 GWh by the end of November 2023.

On the other hand, statistics indicate that the total water production in the Sultanate of Oman rose by 1.8 percent, reaching 478.182 million cubic meters by the end of November 2023. This is compared to 469.899 million cubic meters produced during the same period in 2022.

Oman’s Vision:

while Oman has its own goals that align with their Vision 2040 which laid down clear markers aiming to achieve 30% renewable energy by 2030 and 39% by 2040.

Oman has set in place such as the Manah 1 and 2 solar energy projects, expected to account for 12% of Oman’s electricity production by 2025, each planned to have a capacity of 500MW.

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• He stated that the Ministry of oil has prepared a draft for renewable energy law and is already waiting for approval by the parliament.
• Iraq is also planning to build a 130-megawatt solar power plant in south Iraq in addition to the Hydrogen plant.

Hayan Abdel Ghani, Iraq’s oil minister said that Iraq is planning to build its first green Hydrogen plant with a production capacity of 800 tons per year, “as part of a post war strategy to gradually switch to renewable energy” he added.

During his participation in the ninth Iraq International Energy Exhibition and Conference (IEE), Abdul-Ghani said that the government has begun the first tender to implement carbon conservation projects to reduce gas flaring in Baghdad’s eastern field, which has a capacity of 12 million cubic feet.

He also said in an energy conference in Baghdad on Monday that the project is planned to be set up in south Iraq and it includes a 130-megawatts solar power plant in addition to the hydrogen plant.

“The Oil Ministry has started taking steps to build a green hydrogen plant to be owned by the South Refineries Company,” he informed Iraqi publications.

The oil minister stated that his Ministry has prepared a draft for renewable energy law and sent it to the Iraqi parliament for approval.

Green hydrogen is created by electrolyzing water molecules to separate them into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable energy sources like solar or wind power, has a large potential for production in Iraq.

The country is rich in renewable energy resources especially solar and wind energy, projects may be developed due to the windy and solar filled region, current plans are being set to secure Iraq to be more dependent on green energy.

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The project is part of a greater strategy for the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and aims to convert research into economically-valuable development programmes in the fields of health, energy and sustainable environment.

The fund is one of three major initiatives to help the project achieve its goal, which includes the launch of a National Transformation Institute for Applied Research for technological development, and the shift in the focus of research facilities across the Kingdom to align more with national priorities in development.

The project also hopes to more greatly involve members of the KAUST community to contribute to research and cooperate with the global academic and technological communities. This includes agreements concluded with academic institutions in Shenzhen, China to collaborate in research in the fields of aerospace and robotics. Local and international companies including Aramco, Boeing and IBM amongst others will continue their partnership with the university.

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