Wael Savan, CEO of Shell, said the company needs 'the right ecosystem' be a major investor in renewable energy. Photo: MARK R CRISTINO/Shutterstock
Tax hikes under the Labor government could lead to a curtailment of investment in green energy infrastructure, a Shell chief warned.
Speaking as the FTSE 100 giant posted a record quarterly profit of nearly $10bn (£8bn), up from $9.1bn a year earlier, CEO Wael Savan said, that the company wants to be a big investor in renewable energy, but it needs «the right ecosystem to be able to do it».
Mr Sawan said: «I hope any government that comes in will see this and support it.»
He was responding to comments by Labor Shadow Chancellor Rachel. Reeves and Shadow Energy Minister Ed Miliband, who on Thursday called for more contingency taxes on energy companies.
Pointing to Shell's $9.6 billion first-quarter profit, Labor's Ms Reeves accused the Conservatives of failing to «bring in a proper contingency tax for the oil and gas giants.»
Meanwhile, Mr. Miliband tweeted, «It's astonishing that Rishi Sunak and the conservatives refuse to put in a proper contingency tax to force energy companies to pay their fair share.»
«Labor will bring a proper contingency tax on the oil and gas giants to freeze council tax this year.»
The government has already introduced a so-called tax on energy profits after the war in Ukraine sent oil and gas prices skyrocketing, raising the current tax rate on North Sea producers from 40% to 65%.
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It is expected to generate around £5bn a year in the first three years, according to the Office of Accountability, and Shell predicts around £1bn will be paid over the entire tax period.< /p>
However, critics say the tax is not enough as the world's five largest oil and gas companies — Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, BP and TotalEnergies — posted nearly $200 billion in combined profits in 2022.
A Shell statement that it will return $12 billion in dividends and share buybacks to shareholders in the first half of 2023 has sparked renewed calls for a larger tax raid.
Asked about the comments of Ms. Reeves and Mr. Miliband, and If Shell feels threatened by the Labor government, Mr. Sawan suggested that imposing higher taxes now would harm the implementation of future energy schemes.
He said it was «important to recognize» that the investments a company makes today often didn't turn a profit until ten years later.
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Mr Sawan, who took over as chief executive officer in January, added: “Governments rightly need to do what they need to do. But I think governments also recognize the important role that companies like ours play in investing in fundamental infrastructure in countries.
“I think we have a lot to offer the UK: these are the projects that we are producing today; we supply [liquefied natural gas] to meet the needs of the UK; we are a big, big investor in many low and zero carbon opportunities here… we are looking at a [carbon capture and storage] project.
“So companies like ours play a big role in how we can potentially help the world decarbonize by having the right ecosystem to do it. And I hope that any government that comes along will see this and support it.”
Shell's latest profit jump came even after oil and gas prices fell from their peaks last summer.
It also beat analysts' expectations, which predicted that Shell's profit for the first three months of 2023 would be around $8 billion.
As a result, Europe's largest energy company said it now plans to attract shareholder profits in the first half of this year.
This includes $8 billion in share buybacks and about $4 billion in dividends.
A record quarterly profit came after Shell posted a profit of $39.9 billion last year, doubling the previous figure and the highest annual profit in the company's history.
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