Shell to invest up to £25bn in UK

Shell plans to invest up to £25bn in the UK energy system, the energy giant said on Thursday, the majority of which will be in low-carbon products.

In a statement posted on his LinkedIn page, country chair David Bunch said he fully supported chancellor Rishi Sunak's Spring Statement, including calls for a "new culture of enterprise" and greater capital investment.

He continued: "Today I can announce that Shell is planning to invest between £20 and £25bn into the UK energy system over the next decade.

"More than 75% of this will be in low and zero-carbon products and services, including offshore wind, hydrogen and electric mobility."

Bunch said that the investment, which is subject to board approval, would help move the UK closer to net zero while also ensuring security of supply.

But he warned: "Shell cannot act alone. Investing this money requires urgency of action across government to deliver the enabling policy and business case frameworks. These must address both the supply and demand side of the energy transition.

"We will also need a stable political discourse."

Earlier this week, Shell was reported to be reconsidering its decision to pull out of the controversial Cambo oilfield development in Scotland. Long opposed by environmentalist groups, work was halted in December. At the time, Shell said the economic case for its investment "was not strong enough". Since then, however, oil prices have surged above $100 a barrel.

The energy giant earlier this month followed in the steps of rival BP when it announced plans to quit Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, including ending its involvement with the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline and exiting its joint ventures firm Gazprom.

As at 31 December 2021, Shell had around $3bn in non-current assets in its ventures in Russia.

Bunch - who has been with Shell since 1997 and was named country chair last year - concluded that he would set out "more detail on Shell UK’s plans on all this in the months ahead" and urged people to follow him on LinkedIn "for more updates".