Shell ditches lower oil production target but insists it’s committed to cutting emissions

By PAN PYLAS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Shell has effectively abandoned a plan to cut oil production by 1-2% per year until the end of the decade. Europe’s largest energy company argued Wednesday that it had already met the target it had set for itself in 2021 through asset sales. It says it has seen its production drop from 1.9 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2019 to 1.5 million last year. New chief executive Wael Sawan insisted that the company was still committed to decarbonizing its operations, reiterating the goal that Shell will become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050. Shell and other oil giants have faced increasing pressure to do more to fight emissions from climate activists.