Wednesday 8 March 2023

Cutting oil and gas production is not healthy, says new Shell boss

Oil and gas are integral parts of the current energy system, the new Chief of Shell has said.

In an interview with The Times, two months since he became the first non-European Chief Executive of the energy giant, Wael Sawan said: "I am of a firm view that the world will need oil and gas for a long time to come.

"As such, cutting oil and gas production is not healthy."

Last month, Shell posted $39.9 billion (£32.2bn) in adjusted earnings for 2022 - this marked Shell’s highest profits in 115 of history.

Mr Sawan talked about his family which "doesn't give the privilege of electricity more than a couple of hours a day from the grid", with diesel generators and batteries supplying the rest of it.

Wael Sawn, a Lebanese-Canadian citizen has explained how the past year with the cut in Russian gas supplies and soaring energy prices showed the "fragility of the energy system when we starve it of the supply that is required."

Talking about the US Inflation Reduction Act and how the UK ranked in contrast in terms of attractiveness for clean energy investments, Sawan said the US was "ahead significantly" and that the EU was also ahead of the UK.

He added the UK's Energy Profits Levy, which has increased the tax rate in the North Sea from 40 to 75% was "fundamentally disincentivising the investment in new supplies which are critical if you want to build energy security for the long term."