(Adds detail on scope of Shell's emission reporting, graphics)
By Ron Bousso and Shadia Nasralla
LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell,
owner of the world's largest fuel retail network, said on
Thursday its total greenhouse gas emissions dropped 16% in 2020
as oil and gas sales fell sharply due to the coronavirus
pandemic.
Shell said in its annual report that total emissions from
its oil wells to forecourt fuel sales fell to 1.38 billion
tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent last year, from 1.65 billion
in 2019.
"One of the major causes of this larger than expected
reduction in 2020 was lower demand for energy, especially for
oil and gas," it said.
Energy majors' climate reporting differs in that some
emissions data, for example the data Shell released on Thursday,
includes planet-warming gases from the combustion of fuels they
produce themselves plus the oil products they sell but are
produced by another company.
Others, like BP, only cover the former: emissions
from the combustion of fuels made from crude oil they produce
themselves.
Net carbon intensity, the main measure the Anglo-Dutch
focuses on in its energy transition strategy, dropped last year
to 75 grams of CO2 equivalent per megajoules, a 4% reduction
from 2019, Shell said.
Carbon energy intensity means a company can increase its
fossil fuel output while offsetting its carbon emissions or
adding renewable energy to its product mix.
Shell has begun a major overhaul to shift away from oil and
gas to low-carbon energy, power trading and retail in order to
reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by mid-century,
including the use of offsets for residual emissions.
Shell runs around 46,000 retail fuel stations. Its
executives' pay is linked to its success in reaching its climate
targets. For a Factbox on Big Oil's targets click
(Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Alexander Smith and Pravin
Char)