High demand for a profitable product is a winning formula for commercial success and oil companies aren’t going to be slow to cash in on current prices, no matter what climate obsessives or politicians may say or think. Hydrogen-related roles get squeezed due to slack market interest. Meanwhile renewables firms seek ever larger handouts.
– – –
Shell has taken another axe to its once lofty decarbonization plans, as the U.K. oil giant’s pivot back to fossil fuels picks up steam, says Climate Change Dispatch.
The group plans to cut at least 15% of staff working in its ‘low-carbon solutions division’ [sic] while scaling back its hydrogen business, Reuters first reported Wednesday.
The move will see 200 jobs go in 2024, with another 130 placed under review by the company, according to a statement from Shell.
The division specializes in solutions to decarbonize the transport and industry sector but is separate from its renewables business.
The focus of the cuts is its hydrogen light mobility unit, which develops technologies for passenger vehicles. The unit’s ambitions have been clipped as customers opt for EVs.
“We are transforming our Low Carbon Solutions (LCS) business to strengthen its delivery on our core low-carbon business areas such as transport and industry,” a representative for Shell told Fortune.
“We remain committed to investing in viable low-carbon business models and focusing on our strengths as we play our part in the decarbonization of the global energy system.”
There are 1,300 people working in the LCS division, Reuters reported, but the company has said that isn’t a full reflection of the people contributing to the unit.
It’s the latest move from CEO Wael Sawan, who joined in January, that pivots Shell back to fossil fuels.
Fossil Fuels Are Back
Across the globe, oil giants have been doubling down on their commitment to fossil fuels in the face of global plans to shift to sustainable energy.
Full article here.
Tallbloke's Talkshop 
Reality is back in place except among the politerian i.e. politicians and those who don’t have to make money only spend other people’s on their fantasies.
global plans to shift to sustainable energy
Plans are one thing, but *shift* is a small word with a big meaning when >80% of global energy supply is from fuel burning and demand is still on the rise.
No matter what, the West will remain completely dependent on oil and gas for at least one more investment cycle of 20-30 years. That’s all oil companies needvto plan for.
From 2010-2021 oil tankers shipped 5 million metric tonnes of oil *per day*. Then there’s all the oil that doesn’t need shipping.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/264013/transport-volume-of-crude-oil-in-seaborne-trade/
Meanwhile, in Africa:
African nations tell COP27 fossil fuels will tackle poverty
https://www.reuters.com/business/cop/african-hosted-climate-talks-give-fossil-fuel-voice-2022-11-10/
[reply] how dare they? 😎
Shell remembers it’s a business…
Shell cuts 200 jobs, contracting the hydrogen division
25 October 2023
Shell’s target of cutting oil production each year for the rest of the decade was dropped in June of this year after cutting production by about 20% from a 2019 peak.
Also shelved were any renewable-electricity capacity targets. Instead, it aims to invest more than six times as much on fossil fuels as it will on clean power.
https://news.sky.com/story/shell-cuts-200-jobs-contracting-the-hydrogen-division-12992387
Economist Intelligence Unit reports record carbon fuels demand this year so far, and expects a new record high in 2024. Meanwhile IEA attempts a self-fulfilling prophecy of peak oil be 2030.