Shell Buys Oz Environmental Services Company

Shell Australia on August 3 said it will acquire 100% of Select Carbon, a company that develops carbon farming projects throughout Australia.

“This is Shell’s first acquisition globally for its Nature-Based Solutions business, which invests in forests, grasslands, wetlands and other natural ecosystems around the world to reduce emissions and capture more CO₂ while benefiting biodiversity and local communities,” it said without giving financial details. “It will contribute to Shell’s ambition to be a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 or sooner, in step with society.”

Select Carbon has developed and manages a portfolio of over 70 projects covering about 9mn hectares across different ecosystems and agricultural uses, including in Australia’s rangelands. 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 Australia said.

The company said that Australia continues to be a priority market for Shell’s investment in new energies. The transaction is expected to be completed before the end of the year and is subject to Australian regulatory approval, it said.

In June, Shell signed an agreement with Cnooc Gas & Power, a unit of Chinese state-run Cnooc, for delivery of two cargoes of carbon-neutral LNG to mainland China. These cargoes are carbon neutral which means that all emissions from exploring for and producing the natural gas, up to its use by the final consumers, are offset by credits from a variety of nature-based projects including Shell-supported afforestation projects from Qinghai and Xinjiang provinces in China, Shell said at the time.