Could Wael Sawan usher in a renewable revolution at Shell?
Ben van Beurden sat stony faced as climate activists sang “We will, we will stop you” to the tune of Queen’s We Will Rock You. If Wael Sawan was following the scenes at May’s Shell annual shareholder meeting in London, he will understand the scale of the task ahead when he takes over the top job at Europe’s largest energy company in January.
Sawan will have to tread a path Van Beurden has struggled to navigate, trying to stave off criticism from investors who want him to push further into fossil fuels, and investors and environmental campaigners who call for a bigger green energy drive. Last month it was reported Shell had invested equivalent to 6.3% of its £17.1bn profits into low carbon energy in the first half of the year, investing nearly three times more in oil and gas.
Shell’s image problem hasn’t been helped by the awkward juxtaposition of posting bumper profits as a result of an energy crisis which has left millions facing fuel poverty.
Van Beurden has navigated choppy waters at Shell, including plunges in the oil price, the Covid pandemic and the current gas shortages, which he has predicted could last for several winters. His decision to cut the dividend in 2020 was seismic, the first time the payout had been cut since the second world war.
The Dutchman has made plenty of front foot moves too: leading the £47bn takeover of BG Group in 2015 – one of the biggest ever acquisitions by a British company, which has allowed Shell to benefit from the current gas squeeze – and relocated Shell’s headquarters to London. Van Beurden has also addressed the company’s huge debts through sell-offs of less profitable or productive assets – Shell has made $80bn in divestments over the past decade. He signs off with the company
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