Meeting oil demand will be essential for decades, Shell CEO says

LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) - The global events of the last few months have ​shown ‌that meeting oil demand will be essential for decades to ⁠come, Shell CEO Wael Sawan told shareholders ⁠at an annual general ​meeting on Tuesday.

Shareholders will vote later on Tuesday on a resolution tabled by activist shareholder group Follow This and 21 institutional ​investors ‌representing $1.2 trillion in assets, which would require Shell to disclose how its strategy would perform under scenarios of declining demand for oil and gas.

Sawan said Follow This's questions ​are comprehensively covered by Shell's existing disclosures which enable shareholders to ‌model the financial resilience of the company in any price scenario of their choosing.

Sawan ‌also said that were the Follow This resolution to pass, it would be against good governance because it would hold Shell ​to certain scenarios that are subject to change.

Proxy adviser ISS recommended ‌a vote against Resolution 23, in agreement with Shell's board.

Shell's decision to allow shareholders to vote on the resolution stood ⁠in contrast ⁠to BP, whose board decided not ‌to include the Follow This resolution on its agenda, triggering some of its ​shareholders and ​influential proxy adviser groups to support votes ‌against the board's wishes. BP Chair Albert Manifold's appointment at the meeting received lower-than-typical support. (Reporting by Stephanie Kelly and Shadia Nasralla. Editing by Bernadette Baum and Mark Potter)

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