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Cleaner air
Burning fuels can cause local air pollution. We work to reduce the emissions of local pollutants from our operations and help our customers to reduce their emissions by offering cleaner transport fuels and lubricants and cleaner fuels and technologies for electricity generation.
Advanced technology and tougher regulations have reduced local pollution in the past 20 years. But further reductions will be needed in future, particularly in the congested cities of the developing world.
Our operations
We have been working hard to reduce the emissions of local pollutants – like nitrous oxide (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – from our operations. We have invested to improve facilities, installed cleaner-burning equipment and SO2 capture technology, for example:
- Air monitoring at our Shell Norco Chemical Plant - opens in new window, US.
- Air monitoring at Motiva Enterprises, LCC - opens in new window, the USA (joint venture between Shell and Saudi Refining Inc that refines distributes, and markets oil products in the eastern and southern USA).
- Emissions update of SAPREF refinery - opens in new window, South Africa (50/50 joint venture between Shell SA Energy and BP Southern Africa).
We reduced our total SO2 emissions from operations by nearly 40%, reduced VOC emissions by almost 70% and cut NOx emissions by over 20% between 1999 and 2008 – despite using more energy to refine cleaner lower sulphur fuels.
Cleaner fuels
We were one of the first companies in the early 1990s to produce ultra-low sulphur diesel on a commercial scale. We invested more than $1 billion at our refineries between 1998 and 2008 to produce lower sulphur fuels. The sulphur levels of the fuels we sell vary, depending on what is available from local refineries, but the differences will narrow as more governments in developing countries can afford the costs of desulphurisation. These governments often own the main local refineries.
We continue to work with governments to promote lower sulphur fuels and the modern engines needed to benefit from them.
We are also pioneering gas to liquids (GTL) technology, which produces a cleaner liquid fuel derived from natural gas.
Our work to help develop more electricity with lower emissions includes investing steadily in natural gas, promoting coal gasification technology, and operating our existing wind farms reliably and safely.
Read more about the cleaner fuels we are providing and how we are helping customers reduce their emissions.
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Getting cleaner
Acid gases and Volatile Organic Compounds
Read more about our performance in reducing our emissions of Acid gases and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).
