Shell Renewables Head to Leave Amid Fossil Fuel Shift

Shell Plc’s European renewable power boss Thomas Brostrom has decided to leave the company as the oil supermajor revises its strategy to focus more investment into fossil fuels. 

The departure comes as Shell trims back its ambitions for renewable power to focus on the oil and natural gas that generate most of the firm’s profits. Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan is targeting better shareholder returns and sent a message to the renewables business that cutting CO2 emissions needed to be paired with higher earnings.

Shell announced Brostrom’s exit in an internal memo seen by Bloomberg, which was confirmed by a company spokesman. Shell had hired the executive from Danish wind energy giant Orsted A/S amid its push into renewable power. 

“Thomas Brostrom has elected to leave Shell to pursue an external opportunity,” a spokesperson said by email. “We wish him all the best and thank him for his significant contributions to Shell’s renewable generation business.”

Brostrom confirmed that he’s decided to depart, but declined to comment on where he’s headed next or on his reason for leaving.

In a restructuring that will take effect on July 1, Shell was eliminating the global role of executive vice president for renewable generation held by Brostrom. The production of power from renewable sources will be overseen by the regional heads of Shell Energy reporting to Executive Vice President Steve Hill. Greg Joiner will take over the role of senior vice president for Shell Energy Europe, shifting from his current job as vice president of Shell Energy Australia, according to the memo. 

Brostrom’s departure follows the decision by a Shell power trader, Steffen Krutzinna, to quit over Sawan’s change in strategy. 

Under former CEO Ben van Beurden, Shell expanded aggressively into renewable power and even had ambitions at one time to be the world’s biggest electricity producer. Spending on the company’s renewables and energy solutions unit has grown steadily in recent years. 

But since Sawan took over the top job earlier this year, Shell has said it will be more selective with its green power investments. That means greater focus on projects that can best integrate with the company’s trading abilities. It will also pull back from the offshore wind segment that Brostrom specialized in and that Shell has expanded in recent years.