Shell buys Australian carbon management firm

Shell has purchased Australian carbon management firm Select Carbon for an undisclosed sum, its first such acquisition globally of a company that specialises in storing carbon dioxide in forests, grasslands and other ecosystems to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The acquisition today is also part of Shell's strategy to reach its aim of becoming a net-zero emissions firm by 2050.

The carbon credits generated through Select Carbon's projects are offered for sale through the Australian government's Emissions Reduction Fund and other markets, Shell said.

Shell sold two "carbon-neutral" LNG cargoes to Chinese state-controlled importer CNOOC in June. Carbon credits from several projects, including Shell-supported afforestation projects in China's Qinghai and Xinjiang provinces, will fully offset carbon dioxide emissions from producing the gas up to the final consumption of the two cargoes, Shell said at the time.

Shell is a significant producer of LNG in Australia through its operatorship of the 8.5mn t/yr Queensland Curtis LNG venture and the 3.6mn t/yr Prelude floating LNG project. It also has a 25pc stake in the 15.6mn t/yr Gorgon LNG venture and a sixth share of the 16.3mn t/yr North West Shelf LNG plant, with the latter three projects located offshore Western Australia.

By Kevin Morrison