Air quality
Powering progress
We are helping to improve air quality by reducing emissions from our operations and providing cleaner ways to power transport and industry.
Cleaner transport options
We are developing a range of lower-emission choices for customers – from electric vehicle charging points to hydrogen – to help people and companies use lower-emission modes of transport. For heavy-duty road transport, we offer liquefied natural gas as a fuel and gas-to-liquids products, which help reduce sulphur emissions, particulates and nitrogen oxide compared with oil-based products.
Sulphur oxide, nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compound emissions
We follow our own standards and those of local regulators to manage airborne pollutants in our oil and gas production and processing, including emissions of nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides and volatile organic compounds.
Our sulphur oxide (SOx) emissions in 2022 increased to 36 thousand tonnes, compared with 32 thousand tonnes in 2021. The increase was mainly because of turnarounds (restarting production after scheduled service shutdowns) at the Shell Energy and Chemicals Park Singapore and Sarnia refinery in Canada.
Our nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions decreased from 105 thousand tonnes in 2021 to 93 thousand tonnes in 2022, because of, in part, the handover of operations in OML 11 in Nigeria, the divestment of Permian assets in the USA and fewer ships operated by Shell.
Our emissions of volatile organic compounds decreased to 38 thousand tonnes in 2022 from 45 thousand tonnes in 2021. The reductions were, in part, due to the divestment of Permian assets in the USA, the shutdown of the Trans Niger Pipeline and handover of operations in OML 11 in Nigeria, and reduced flaring in upstream assets in the UK.
To find out more about air quality, visit www.shell.com/sustainability/environment/air-quality.
Acid gases and volatile organic compounds
Thousand tonnes
