London, United Kingdom – British energy major Shell announced Wednesday a big payout to shareholders and plans to keep oil output steady until 2030, triggering outcry from green campaigners.
Shell previously flagged a crude output reduction of between one and two percent per year as part of its carbon neutrality plan unveiled in 2021 and based on 2019 output.
The group said Wednesday that it had already cut average daily liquids production to 1.5 million barrels per day by the end of 2022 on divestments.
That marked a 21-percent reduction from 2019, or the equivalent of cutting output by two percent per year until 2030, according to the company.
“Our target of a reduction in oil production by 2030 has not changed. We’ve just met it eight years early,” a spokesman added.
Shell also revealed it would pay out at least $5 billion in share buybacks in the second half of this year.
The group will additionally cut capital spending to between $22-25 billion for 2024 and 2025, and slash annual operating costs by $2-3 billion by the mid-decade.
“Performance, discipline, and simplification will be our guiding principles as we allocate capital to enhance shareholder distributions, while enabling the energy transition,” said chief executive Wael Sawan.
Campaign group Global Witness labelled Wednesday’s announcement as a “climate-wrecking U-turn”, urging it instead to invest far more in cleaner energy.
Shell’s net profit gushed to a record $42.3 billion last year as the invasion of Ukraine by key energy producer Russia sent oil and gas prices soaring.
“Record profits, off the back of the energy crisis should be boosting up green investment,” said Jonathan Noronha-Gant, senior campaigner at Global Witness.
“Instead, it’s shareholder payouts and a doubling down on climate-wrecking fossil fuels. It will always be profit over people and planet for polluters.”
Shell insists that its overall goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 remains intact.
