Seize the day

From the way I’ve seen customers, partners and teams respond to the challenges of recent years, I am optimistic about what Shell and the wider energy industry can achieve in 2022.

One of my favourite phrases is carpe diem – seize the day. In fact, I think it is one of the best attitudes to have when things get tough. Well, 2020 and 2021 have certainly been challenging – from the ongoing fight against COVID-19, to economic uncertainty, and supply and demand issues. But if I look at Shell’s teams, customers and partners, these difficult years have also been a lesson in how to take each day at a time and make something from it.

It was great to be able to visit Shell sites in Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore, the UK and the USA in the last few months – and to hear direct from the teams on the ground, meet customers face to face and see how different parts of the world are making change no matter what challenges they face.?

When I think of Shell, and the Downstream business in particular, which includes transport, trading, retail sites and chemicals and products, our teams did three amazing things. They played a vital role supplying energy and keeping goods and people moving, they helped to deliver very strong financial results in successive quarters – and they even ensured that we were voted the number one global lubricant supplier for the 15th year in a row! This all makes me very optimistic about the year ahead. When possible, I plan to get out and about a lot more in 2022.?

For Shell’s part, we have been working with others to seize the challenge of the energy transition – and this is key to our Powering Progress strategy. We are working alongside governments, customers and partners to make change fast and at the scale needed. For instance, in refining, we are concentrating our global portfolio into five sites by 2030 – in Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore, Canada and the USA. These sites, or Energy and Chemicals Parks, will be closely integrated with our chemicals facilities. We have already begun the transformation and, this year, expect to see and hear much more about how we are increasing our production of low-carbon fuels. In fact, by 2030, we aim to produce eight times more than we did in 2021.

Our sites will allow us to respond quickly to changing customer demand. At our Rotterdam site in the Netherlands, we are investing in a facility that aims to produce 820,000 tonnes of biofuels a year. In 2024, when the site starts up, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) could make up more than half the capacity – and we will be able to adjust this mix to meet demand. Globally, by 2025, we aim to make about 2 million tonnes of SAF a year.

And as more people change the type of car they drive, you’ll notice the change in our retail sites too. Today, we are officially opening our first EV charging hub in London. This is also the first time we have swapped all our petrol and diesel pumps at a site for ultra-rapid charge points. Now that is change. Right now, Shell operates over 80,000 charge points globally, and by 2025, we aim for over 500,000. This is how we are taking action today to help shape the journeys of tomorrow.

These are just some of the reasons that I believe 2022 is a year when Shell can make much more positive change. We will continue to help play our role in the energy transition by being bold, transforming what we do and combining long-term strategy with the ability to seize the day.?