Shell is to review its plans for a Dutch sustainable aviation fuel facility, and will halt construction work while it assesses the project.
The company disclosed in September 2021 that it would build a biofuel facility in Rotterdam, on a site formerly known as the Pernis refinery.
It added that it would be “among the biggest in Europe”, producing aviation fuel and renewable diesel from waste including cooking oil and animal fat, supplemented by sustainable vegetable oil feedstock.
Shell put the annual biofuel output of the plant at 820,000t, stating that it expected the facility to commence production this year.
Sustainable aviation fuel, the company said, could account for “more than half” of this annual capacity.
But Shell says that its Nederland Raffinaderij subsidiary will “temporarily pause” the on-site construction work to “address project delivery” and “ensure future competitiveness given current market conditions”.
This decision will enable the company to “assess the most commercial way forward” for the project, says Shell downstream, renewables and energy solutions director Huibert Vigeveno.
The number of contractors will be reduced and activity will “slow down” to help “control costs and optimise project sequencing”, the company states.
Shell will carry out an impairment review of the project, with additional details set to be disclosed on 5 July.
