Shell to divest from ICE fuelling sites

Oil and gas giant Shell will divest from 1,000 retail gasoline and diesel fuelling sites across 2024 and 2025 and seek to grow its EV charging business in coming years, according to its latest transition strategy.

In total Shell has around 45,000 service stations operating in 80 countries.

“We are upgrading our retail network, with expanded electric vehicle charging and convenience offers, in response to changing customer needs,” Shell’s Energy Transition Strategy reads.

“As the energy transition progresses, we expect to sell more low-carbon products and solutions, and less oil products including petrol and diesel,” the document continues.

Shell currently operates 54,000 charge points. The firm is targeting 16,000 EV charge point installations between now and 2025 — primarily in Europe and China — to bring its total to 70,000 installed charge points by 2024, and to 200,000 by 2030.

The public charge points will be installed in a mix of Shell forecourts, streets and at retail locations such as supermarkets.

The firm expects an internal rate of return of at least 12pc from the EV charging sites, including revenues from convenience stores. It does not currently separate out EV charging profits from wider profits in its mobility division.

Shell also operates a further 144,000 charge points which it does not own.

Last March, Shell completed the acquisition of Volta in the US, giving it one of the largest public electric vehicle charging networks in the country. It now owns more than 3,000 charge points across 31 states, with an additional 3,400 in development.

It also opened the largest EV charging station in the world in China. The Shell Recharge Shenzhen Airport EV Station has 258 fast-charging points powered by rooftop solar panels.

Shareholders will have an advisory vote on the Energy Transition Strategy at Shell’s 2024 annual general meeting.