Frans Everts

“While others talked, we invested.” Just published: Shell CEO Wael Sawan discusses Shell’s role in the energy transition in an exclusive interview with Dutch daily NRC. He says: “Shell embraced the energy transition years ago. While others were mainly talking, we invested. We are already working on reducing our own emissions; our reduction target is even higher than what is required (in the Climate Case ruling).. We have the ambition to reduce emissions of customers who use our oil products by 15 to 20 percent by 2030." How will Shell achieve its targets? “We want to be an energy transition company. We do a little oil, a little gas, green hydrogen, CO2 storage, biofuels, charging stations. We're going for gold in all those categories.. We will not play on other people’s pitches; we play to our strengths.” “For example, we are building a green hydrogen plant in the Netherlands for more than 1 billion euros. While there are no customers yet! We are investing $10 billion to $15 billion over three years in projects with lower carbon emissions… But we must be realistic and choose where we want to go faster than society. Sustainable investments must also be financially sustainable.” On Shell’s investments in liquefied natural gas: “We believe that you can greatly reduce emissions in the world by replacing coal with gas. We need a transition fuel until there are batteries that are powerful enough to provide energy for longer periods of time. Of all the options that are currently available, gas is the most realistic.” Wael is optimistic for the future, he believes in the ingenuity of man, and the “100,000 bright minds at Shell,” to find solutions. And that’s hugely important: “The choices I must make can be frighteningly complicated. We need to find solutions amid all kinds of uncertainties and threats. The hardest part is figuring out which one." #strategy #sustainability #innovation #energy #energytransition

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Groningen Gas Field Closure: Farewell to a Giant, Impact on the Market: - The Netherlands recently closed the Groningen gas field, a monumental decision with significant implications for the European gas market. - It is the largest natural gas field in Europe and one of the largest in the world, with an estimated 2,740 billion cubic meters of recoverable natural gas. - Farewell to a Giant: 1.The Groningen field held a staggering 450bn m3 of remaining reserves – that's more than half of the EU's entire gas consumption in 2023. 2.By leaving this substantial reserve untapped, the Netherlands takes a bold step towards sustainability. 3.Production peaked in the mid-1970s at over 80bn m3 annually, supplying a substantial chunk of Europe's gas needs. -Reason for Closure: 1.The decision is rooted in safety and environmental concerns , for example the seismic activity linked to gas extraction caused damage to buildings and raised safety concerns. 2.The Dutch government prioritized public safety over continued production. - Potential Market Impact: 1.While it won’t significantly affect the TTF (Title Transfer Facility) prices, it sends a clear signal to the gas market. 3.The closure could lead to moderately higher gas prices in Europe. 4.Europe will become more reliant on pipeline imports and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to meet demand. 5. The market may experience less flexibility and potentially higher vulnerability to supply disruptions. Nuances to Consider: The closure has been gradual, allowing Europe to prepare for alternative sources. The impact on prices might be mitigated by factors like increased LNG supplies.

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New Dutch coalition aims for more offshore gas extraction, nuclear energy - Among the proposals are plans to increase drilling for domestic gas in the North Sea and build at least four nuclear power plants

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NETHERLAND LCOH2 BASED ON PROPOSED ELECTROLIZER PROJECTS Issued yesterday, 30th May 2024, and prepared by the TNO unit Energy and Materials Transition of the Netherlands, this report provides an overview, of the most important cost components and the implied levelized cost of hydrogen (#LCOH2) to produce #renewablehydrogen through water-electrolysis in the #Netherlands. Here are my top picks: ✅ The level of investment cost faced by project developers is estimated at  €3,050/kWe and €2,630/kWe for a 100 MWe and a 200 MWe project, respectively. ✅ As the focus is on cost, no potential revenues from operating electrolysers or subsidies have been considered. ✅ The resulting LCOH2 is in the order of €12/Kg H2 TO €14/Kg H2 ✅ Various factors can be optimised and contribute to improvement of the LCOH2. The analysis shows that even with stacking of multiple favourable conditions, a significant gap remains, which needs to be bridged to compete with fossil based H2. ✅ The largest contributions to the LCOH2 are the cost of #electricity, the investment cost and associated #capitalcost, and the high-voltage electricity grid transport tariff. ✅ The investment costs have shown an upward trend in recent years due to increases in the cost of energy, raw materials and labour, and increased interest rates (I shared a similar view here https://lnkd.in/dUNRY3WW). Those who were involved are: Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, NLHydrogen, HyCC, Shell, EBN B.V., Uniper, ENGIE, Air Products, NLHydrogen, Climate Directorate of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, Air Liquide; bp; Eneco; HYGRO; HyCC; Ørsted; RWE; Tata Group; Vattenfall; VoltH2 Below you will find a copy of the full report.

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So what happens to all those biofuel projects now? For the bio-LNG part, I have an answer. The entire LNG value chain is identical for bio and conventional LNG, with the only exception of production. Methane is a pure product, meaning liquefaction, storage, transport and distribution down to the engines are the same for both. You can one day fuel up on 100% conventional LNG and the next day on 100% bio LNG and the vehicle won't notice a change. In LNG's case, much of the existing bio infrastructure can be reused for conventional. If this is no risk mitigation, what is? https://lnkd.in/d-gx8gz8

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The energy transition at risk of grinding to a halt The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency stated that it is possible to make the Netherlands climate-neutral by 2050, but did not consider whether this is economically, financially and socially feasible. That is the big issue around the energy transition. For a long time, a picture has been painted that the energy transition is beautiful and challenging, good for the people’s wallet, for the new economy with new green jobs. But we have to face the fact that we are doing it for the climate, because purely economically, to a large extent, it is actually capital destruction to tear down our current energy system and build something new. The bill is going to continue to go up in the coming years. Moreover, climate problems can only be solved on a global scale. Therefore, the key lies in Asia; the individual European countries like the Netherlands can no longer make the difference. According to the Dutch Economic Institute for the Building Industry (EIB), the Netherlands can contribute, implement good sustainability policies and further reduce CO2 emissions. But at the current pace, it will not succeed because the manpower is not there. The cost of making all buildings in the Netherlands climate-neutral by 2050 will continue to skyrocket. That is the expectation of the EIB, which has calculated whether this is possible. The EIB arrives at the sum of 375 billion euros, more than half of which will not be recovered. And that's not even the biggest problem, as simply the  workforce to take all seven million homes and other buildings off natural gas in the period up to 2050 is lacking.  That would require an additional 100,000 construction workers, where there are now 60,000. That is not realistic, according to the EIB, also because construction workers are needed in other parts of the energy transition. Besides this ignores what happens after a period of extreme scaling up. Then a situation of only replacement and maintenance in sustainability arises and construction would have to let 100,000 workers go again. #energytransition #globalwarming #sustainability #renewables #naturalgas Sourc; telegraaf.nl Source: telegraaf.nl

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I have friends in the Dutch energy transition community (i really do) and they have been doom and gloom ever since the election. They should cheer up. The new coalition agreement actually shows how deep and unstoppable is the political momentum for the energy transition. My strictly personal take on the policy developments that have been condemned on social media as pushing the planet to a fiery doom is the following: ·      Shifting renewable deployment emphasis to offshore wind with consideration for fisheries: This makes perfect sense in an infrastructure constrained country where onshore renewable interconnection became extremely challenging anyway. With a strong maritime engineering sector, offshore wind will support Dutch green jobs, the latest tenders already had marine ecology assessments which the industry incorporated into project designs. ·      Support for carbon capture: CCS is mainstream climate science, it features in the transition strategies of most net zero jurisdictions including the EU’s which was designed by Dutch green leader Mr Timmermans in his previous role at the Commission. CCS will enable Rotterdam remaining an industrial hub in the net zero society. ·      Existing nuclear stays open, new nuclear is encouraged: Prematurely shutting down nuclear led to increased fossil fuel use in every single place that tried it. Given the space constrains and high industrial energy use of the Netherlands, keeping nuclear in the mix for the long term is a reasonable strategy. ·      Eliminating EV subsidies: given the amazing technology learning curve of EV batteries, I have no doubt that a dynamic EV penetration will continue. A lot of those subsidies ended up anyway in the upper middle class suburbs swarming with Teslas. ·      Eliminating the 100 km/h speed limit: the only losers will be the apps that everyone uses to evade radar control. This regulation was never consistent with social preferences. With electric cars, it does not matter. ·      Maintaining offshore oil and gas production: We might have to agree to disagree, but shutting down hydrocarbon production in stable democracies ahead of the physical transition of demand only benefits the hostile dictatorships and corrupt oligarchs who would step into the market gap while demand is there. The Netherlands has very tough environmental regulations on the oil and gas industry, if it plays a role in serving the remaining demand that is good for the planet. I’m certain that we will see a speedy decline of Dutch CO2 emissions under the new coalition agreement. If this is what is labelled as “climate sceptic backlash’, take the win. There will of course be disagreements and debates on various policies as well as on broader social and cultural issues. This is natural, and the Netherlands has a strong democratic tradition to resolve them. My plea to the Dutch green community is to maintain open minded collaboration.

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I am increasingly intrigued by the hydrogen activity in the Middle East. Long known for its oil prowess, the region has multiple hydrogen projects in the pipeline; many green hydrogen. The Middle East has a few advantages: the abundance of land in a strong solar and wind region, a knowledge base due to the large influence of oil and gas, strategic positioning for exporting to Europe and Asia, and most importantly, lots of money. What surprised me most is the openness to embrace a potential rival to the main export, oil. This is a shrewd decision and a hedge against the potential decline of exports as other regions like the US grow in energy production and the increase in electrification gains momentum globally. I also see this region as a long-term customer of capital equipment like electrolyzers, reformers, and ammonia/methanol infrastructure. The Middle East will continue to be a large player in the energy space for some time. #ANDnotOR https://lnkd.in/eiPWXx2P

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🇪🇺 🏭 More exciting news for the decarbonization of European #industry: TotalEnergies has signed an agreement with European partners to develop the OranjeWind #offshorewind farm in the 🇳🇱Netherlands that will produce approximately 40,000 tons of green #hydrogen via electrolysis annually.   This green or low-carbon hydrogen will be crucial for decarbonizing our European refineries, eliminating the emission of about 400,000 tons of CO2 per year. The project also contributes to the stabilization of the grid by storing excess production (batteries and heat), while helping support the Netherlands in meeting its #decarbonization targets. This collaboration is the latest example of TotalEnergies' #pioneering role in the energy transition in #Europe — and how strong European partnerships can help us all move forward. 📰 https://lnkd.in/eUNd5Bic

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Consumers in Belgium saw inflation rise to 3.37% in April, as energy costs spiked for the first time in a year, due to the disappearance of certain supports put in place by the Federal Government at the beginning of the energy crisis. Latest figures from the Belgian statistics agency Statbel showed that annual inflation rose to 3.37% in April, compared to 3.18% in March and 3.20% in February. This means that the monthly costs borne by an average Belgian household were 3.37% higher in April than in the same month in 2023. For the first time since March 2023, prices in the energy sector rose in April. Energy inflation hit 9.19% this month, compared to -1.61% in March and -5.34% in February. Statbel highlighted that the increase in energy inflation is due to the disappearance of basic flat-rate supports for electricity and natural gas from the index since March. These supports were part of a raft of measures introduced by the Belgian government between October 2021 and the end of 2023 to offset rising energy prices for households. For electricity, annual inflation currently stands at 1.9%, compared to -14.9% last month. Meanwhile, the rate of inflation for natural gas prices has risen to 87.5%, from 29% in March.

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Shell Nederland Raffinaderij B.V., a subsidiary of Shell plc, has announced a temporary halt on the construction of its 820,000 tonnes per year biofuels facility at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Rotterdam, Netherlands. This pause aims to address project delivery challenges and ensure future competitiveness amidst current market conditions. Huibert Vigeveno, Shell’s Downstream, Renewables and Energy Solutions Director, explained, "Temporarily pausing on-site construction now will allow us to assess the most commercial way forward for the project." He emphasized Shell’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, with low-carbon fuels playing a crucial role in the company's strategy to help both Shell and its customers profitably decarbonize. Vigeveno added, "We will continue to use shareholder capital in a measured and disciplined way, delivering more value with fewer emissions." The biofuels facility, which received its final investment decision in September 2021, is designed to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel from waste. This strategic move is aligned with Shell CEO Wael Sawan’s focus on profitability since taking office last year. Under Sawan’s leadership, Shell has also scrapped hydrogen projects and pulled out of various markets to concentrate on core operations. This decision comes in the wake of similar announcements by bp, which has paused the development of two biofuel plants in Germany and the United States earlier this week. These moves reflect the broader industry trend of reassessing biofuels projects in response to shifting market dynamics and financial pressures. Read the article on our blog. #AvfoilNews #Shell #Biofuels #SustainableAviationFuel #RenewableDiesel #NetZeroEmissions #EnergyTransition #HuibertVigeveno #WaelSawan #Sustainability #EnergySector #ClimateAction

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🇳🇱 💰 ING to Halts Funding of LNG Export Projects After 2025 Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation ING is halting the funding of upstream oil and gas companies. In its Climate Progress Update 2024, ING said it will “stop all new general financing to so-called pure-play upstream oil and gas companies that continue to develop new oil and gas fields,” effective immediately. The bank also said that it has decided to stop providing new financing for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals after 2025, guided by the IEA World Energy Outlook 2023. Source ➡️ https://lnkd.in/g4R82S8K #LNG #ING #investment

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"It's the molecules, stupid" was a print on a T-shirt gifted to a wise person yesterday. This wise person will be part of a panel discussion that I will be moderating during NL Energy Day 2024, organized by #SPENL and PGK at Oscars Beach Club in Scheveningen on 17 June. These five top experts will be on the panel: Laszlo Varro - VP Global Business Environment, Shell Coby van der Linde - Director, Centre for International Energy Policy (CIEP) Jan Dirk Jansen - Professor of Reservoir Systems and Control, Delft University of Technology Heijn van Gent 🧂⛏- Specialistic Inspector Salt, Caverns, Storage, Subsidence, Staatstoezicht op de Mijnen (SodM) Douwe van Leverink - Director Development, EBN B.V. I look forward to hearing their views on the changing role of and changing perspectives on #energy and #geosciences. I'm sure we will also talk about molecules and electrons, about energy policy, about energy and politics and other impacts of energy on the economy and society and vice versa. Do you want to join the discussion? More information and registration: https://lnkd.in/eT8shJmr Do you want to know who has the T-shirt? Join us on 17 June and find out. (If you know, 🤫!) #WeAreSPE #EnergyTransition #EnergyTrilemma #Geosciences #Geothermal #CO2_storage #hydrogen_storage

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Netherlands M&A Alert! On July 18, 2024, Tenaz Energy announced an agreement to acquire all offshore assets of Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM), a 50/50 JV between ExxonMobil and Shell, for US$180 million plus contingent payments. This acquisition adds a reported 11,000 boe/d production, growing its Netherlands output 10x and catapulting Tenaz from a small producer to the second largest operator offshore Netherlands. Reported 2P reserves of 53.6 MMboe are reliant on multiple new development well programmes that Tenaz is planning as it seeks to revitalise the acquired assets. Tenaz joins Kistos Nederland and RockRose Energy as relatively newcomers to the region, as part of a focus on growing North Sea gas production. With Rockrose rumoured to be the buyer for Shell and ExxonMobil's UK gas basin assets, more deals in the Southern North Sea are likely.

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Did you know that Max Mannino, Vice President of Customer Solutions, Shell Energy will be joining us as a speaker on our “Progress in the energy transition” keynote at Decarb Connect Europe 2024, Europe’s leading industrial decarbonisation summit taking place June 17-19 in Berlin, Germany! About Shell Energy Through their Shell Energy brand, they offer customers the reliability, simplicity, scale and innovation to help them navigate and find energy solutions that best suit their needs. The brand encompasses two complementary, yet distinct, business units, which together give breadth in energy supply and guide customers to a better energy future. FIND OUT MORE: https://hubs.li/Q02BLf010 About Decarb Connect Europe Decarb Connect Europe 2024 will shine a spotlight on groundbreaking projects happening across Europe, following from the recent release of the EU Carbon Management Strategy Report and fostering discussions on practical roadmaps for the future. There's still time to secure your ticket, book now >> https://hubs.li/Q02BKWrt0 #NetZero #Decarbonisation #Oil #Gas #Steel #Carbon #CCUS #Glass #Cement #Ceramics #Lime #DCEU24 #industrials #energy #energyfinance #energypolicy #decarbonisationpolicy #renewables #decarbonisationclusters #CO2 #carbon #innovation #carbonmanagementstrategy #shellenergy

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MARKET COMMENT: TTF prices volatile on tensions in Middle East by ICIS Editorial. According to shipping signals, five vessels are expected at the Dutch Gate LNG terminal between 5-15 October. These volumes likely aimed at near-term consumption as Dutch gas internal demand was 75mcm on 1 October, some 16% higher than the average demand of the previous three days (ICIS data) PRICE DRIVERS TTF Day-ahead prices moved down through the morning on news indicating that Israeli gas fields resumed operations after a short-lived halt Volatility has [also] been present as market participants observe the situation in the Middle East VIEW FROM THE MARKET The Strait of Hormuz is being closely monitored as tensions escalate - this could potentially limit Qatar LNG cargoes coming out of the Persian Gulf Another trader said that as plenty of Middle Eastern LNG cargoes head to China, it is also in Beijing's interest to mediate in order to keep this maritime route open. KEY FUNDAMENTALS Investment funds and energy companies moved shorter on TTF in the latest ICE Commitment of Traders (CoT) report Dutch flows of H-gas to Germany increased by 17mcm to 43mcm on 2 October day on day - this denotes the volatility on geographic spreads The ICIS East Asia Index premium to TTF Early Day stood at $0.195/MMBtu for prompt November on 2 October. This premium recorded a session-on-session decrease from $0.944/MMBtu on 1 October as escalating tensions inflate European gas prices. NEWS Energy firm Chevron said its Israeli gas production facilities Tamar and Leviathan have resumed production after a temporary shut down on 1 October. #lngindustry #lng #lngshipping #gas #shippinindustry

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