Shell will invest 4-50 billion US dollars each year to develop chemical business

According to news from ICIS on February 18, according to a report in Chemical Weekly, Shell stated that it will invest US$4-5 billion annually to develop its chemicals and products business as part of a broader rebalancing of the group’s investment portfolio to Reach the goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

These investments will be made "in the short term" and are part of a series of strategic measures announced by the energy giant on the 18th to accelerate its low-emission efforts. Shell will also invest US$5-6 billion annually in renewable energy and marketing, US$4 billion a year in integrated natural gas business, and US$8 billion in its legacy upstream assets. It also confirmed its expectation that its total carbon emissions will reach a peak of 1.7 Gt/year in 2018, and the company's oil production will peak in 2019.

Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said: "We see that chemical demand will continue to grow, exceeding GDP... Therefore, we will continue to develop our chemical business, focusing on intermediates and high-performance chemicals. These are ours Areas with competitive advantages in terms of technology, scale and market access. We are currently constructing or researching projects in Pennsylvania and Louisiana in the United States and the South China Sea. We will also produce virgin chemicals from recycled waste. We increase our profits Between the opportunities we have to invest in growth and the choices we must invest in for growth, we will increase chemical cash generation by US$1 to 2 billion annually by 2030."

Shell said it plans to complete the previously announced plan to streamline its refining and chemical business within 10 years, and streamline the current 13 refining sites into 6 core integrated energy and chemical parks. The company said these will bring synergies and expand the supply of low-carbon products, and the company will also undertake "selective growth of chemicals." It added that it will use existing infrastructure and assets to achieve faster and more effective transformation.

van Beurden said: "Of course, these six energy and chemical parks will be highly integrated with our trading and optimization business, as well as our independent chemical sites. Our transition to energy and chemical parks means that by 2030, we Will reduce the production of traditional fuels by 55%. At the same time, we will produce more low-carbon fuels and high-performance chemicals."

Shell said that due to its enhanced elasticity and lower volatility, the company's focus on high-performance chemicals will get a higher return than daily chemicals.

Shell said that the chemical business will grow as a “facilitator”. The company’s goal is to achieve this goal by investing in integrated petrochemical companies in emerging markets and reducing its exposure to commodity chemicals by 70% by 2030. The company said it will increase profitability by investing in intermediates and high-performance chemical projects.