Shell oil chief endorses carbon-capture projects in Middle East – despite ‘disappointment’ over axed Peterhead CCS plan

The chief executive of global oil giant Shell has today endorsed major new carbon-capture projects in the Middle East – despite the ‘disappointment’ over the now-dumped £1bn Shell-backed CCS project in Scotland.

The UK Govt. axed the funding for joint Shell-SSE plant at Peterhead power station in a surprise U-turn in Chancellor George Osborne’s six-monthly budget spending review last month

But, speaking at the International Petroleum Technology Conference today in Doha, Ben van Beurden, Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell, told delegates:

“Along with implementing the right policies – such as government-led carbon pricing systems –  boosting technology is critical to this endeavour <sustainable energy> Shell follows two “technology routes”.

“The first route is to make use of hydrocarbons in a cleaner and more efficient way. By producing cleaner fuels, for example.

“Another example is capturing CO₂ and storing it safely under the ground – known as Carbon Capture and Storage, or CCS.

“An example of this is The Qatar Carbonates and Carbon Storage Research Centre. This research centre is jointly funded by Qatar Petroleum and Shell, with additional support from the Qatar Science and Technology Park.

Its aim is to expand research capacity in CCS and cleaner fossil fuels.

“The second route is to produce and distribute energy in potentially new ways. For example, we’re building our knowledge of hydrogen, of renewables like solar and biomass, and of ways to use and store heat and electricity.”

He also said that technological development is a crucial factor in helping meet global needs for ‘more energy and cleaner energy’.

But in a warning to global leaders at the UN climate-change conference in Paris over the Economy v Environment debate, he also said:

“The world also needs affordable energy. Economic sustainability is as crucial as environmental sustainability.”