Meeting today's energy needs and creating the conditions for a cleaner future

In recent weeks, I've had the pleasure of visiting both Norway and Denmark. During these visits, I connected with our passionate local teams, visited projects, spoke with stakeholders, and met with some of our regional commercial and technical partners. It was inspiring to see how we're collaborating not only to meet today's energy needs but also to create the commercial conditions to sustain cleaner energy solutions in the future. 

Norway 

I'd like to thank Marianne Olsnes and the A/S Norske Shell team for hosting me in Norway a couple of weeks ago, as well as giving me the opportunity to speak at the Shell Energy Dialogue event, which is a fantastic forum for engaging conversations about energy issues. 

I had the pleasure of meeting with Svein Tore Holsether , CEO of Norwegian fertiliser giant Yara International. We had the opportunity to discuss decarbonisation opportunities as well as how industry and governments can best collaborate. 

I visited the Northern Lights JV, Shell's CO₂ transport and storage partnership with Equinor and TotalEnergies. This remarkable project demonstrates how to decarbonise industry by establishing a value chain from industrial emitters in continental Europe to storage in the Norwegian Sea. It introduces the concept of international CO₂ transport and storage as a service and sets a new standard for European industrial companies seeking decarbonisation solutions.  Advancing this initiative, Yara is Northern Lights' commercial customer for cross-border CO₂ transport and storage.

My trip to Norway culminated with a visit to One Subsea, Shell’s technical partner who is designing and manufacturing a subsea compression facility at the Ormen Lange Gas Field. This is Norway’s second largest gas field, 16 years into its life cycle and with production on decline it’s critical to maximise recovery. The subsea compression system being developed will increase Ormen Lange’s gas recovery substantially and is notable for being one of the lowest-carbon-footprint developments globally, using green hydroelectric energy to power the subsea compressors, located at 900-metre water depth.  

Denmark 

Then last week, I had the pleasure of visiting and meeting Ole Hvelplund and the team at Nature Energy in Denmark. Shell's acquisition of Nature Energy, Europe's largest producer of biomethane, for nearly $2 billion earlier this year was a significant step towards Shell's ambitions to build a global integrated biomethane value chain and profitably grow its low carbon offerings across multiple sectors. 

Three key market drivers—reducing greenhouse gas emissions, providing local, dependable, and affordable energy, and addressing the rising amount of organic waste in a circular manner—support Nature Energy's market leadership in biomethane production from organic waste. 

What stood out to me most is their innovative approach to the circular economy. Nature Energy converts agricultural waste into biomethane, a process that significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions by averting the methane release associated with traditional farming practices. The production of biomethane involves a thorough mechanical 'digestion' process, and the remaining solid matter is then transformed into a nutrient-rich, near-odourless organic fertiliser. This circular system not only supplies farms with high-quality fertiliser but also presents a viable way to lower methane emissions, thereby enhancing the sustainability and growth of agricultural operations in the communities where Nature Energy operates. 

Learn more about how we connect farms to fuel and get to know the farmers that we partner with here. 

Sinead Lynch

Janneke Abels