The British – Dutch company’s investment strategy heavily relies on hydrocarbons, in particular on upstream and integrated gas

• Over the past 3 years, US$2.4 billion were invested annually in oil and gas exploration.
• In 2024, US$12.7 billion were invested in upstream and integrated gas – that primarily includes LNG activities – and US$22.9 billion were distributed to shareholders, compared with just US$2.5 billion invested in its “Renewables and Energy Solutions” business – that includes renewable energy and other so-called “low carbon” energies.
• Up to 2030, Shell plans to allocate approximately 60% of its investments to its “upstream and integrated gas” segment. Only 9% is earmarked for its “Renewables and energy solutions” business.
• This is a significant rollback from Shell’s previous capital expenditure plan, which targeted 19% of its 2025 investments in “Renewables and energy solutions” activities.

Shell has made no commitment to stop developing new oil and gas projects. The company is the 10th largest upstream developer worldwide and the 9thth largest LNG export terminal developer.

In 2023, Shell already came back on its 2030 target to reduce oil production. In 2025, the company committed to increase its oil and gas production by 1% per year by 2030, driven by gas. With the company’s current expansion strategy, its 2030 fossil fuels production will be 23% above the NZE.

LNG is core to Shell’s fossil expansion strategy with new export and import terminals planned. Shell’s net liquefaction capacity will increase to 58 Mtpa by 2030 and will overshoot by 39% the level required by the NZE.

The company’s business model will continue to be based on oil and gas extraction and LNG in the coming years. Diversification in other energies will keep representing a minority share of its future production and will sometimes involve activities that are harmful to the environment.

A central part of Shell’s power strategy relies on gas power. Shell is planning 3 new gas power units, that will represent a 12% increase of Shell’s gross gas power capacity.

Shell does not communicate a target on its future renewable capacities. Its current installed and under development renewable portfolio capacity reaches 7.4 GW. Assuming these projects will be carried out by 2030, without any other portfolio change, Shell will still be producing 47 times more energy with its oil and gas extraction than with its renewable capacities in 2030.

With its current strategy, Shell will remain one of the key oil and gas players. Indeed, in 2030, Shell’s oil and gas extraction will represent 2.5% of the global hydrocarbon production projected in the NZE, whereas the company will only represent 0.1% of the worldwide renewable power production.