Environment

Oil major Shell vows to boost shareholder returns, doubles down on LNG push

Published

5 months ago

March 25, 2025

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A view shows a board with the logo of Shell at the company’s fuel station in Saint Petersburg, Russia May 6, 2022.

Anton Vaganov | Reuters

British oil major Shell on Tuesday announced plans to increase shareholder returns and cut spend, as it doubles down on its liquified natural gas (LNG) push.

In an announcement ahead of its Capital Markets Day 2025 event, the company said it would bolster shareholder distributions to 40-50% of cash flow from operations, up from a 30-40% range previously. It intends to stick to progressive dividends of 4% per year and to grow free cash flow per share by more than a yearly 10% through to 2030.

The oil major also said it will lower its spending to $20-22 billion per year through to 2028, after targeting such costs in a $22-25 billion range for 2024 and 2025 back in 2023.

The oil company separately said it aims to trim its structural cost reduction target from $2-3 billion by the end of this year to a cumulative $5-7 billion by the end of the three-year stretch to the end of 2028, compared with 2022 plans.

Shell — the world’s largest liquified natural gas trader — guided it will grow output across its combined upstream and integrated gas businesses by 1% per year through to 2030, as well as increase LNG sales by 4-5% every year through that period. It will separately keep its oil production steady at 1.4 million barrels per day until the end of the decade.

The company intends to expend 10% of its capital in low-carbon businesses by 2030.

”We want to become the world’s leading integrated gas and LNG business and the most customer-focused energy marketer and trader, while sustaining a material level of liquids production. Today we are raising the bar across our key financial targets, investing where we have competitive strengths and delivering more for our shareholders,” CEO Wael Sawan said in a Tuesday statement.

European oil companies have increasingly battled pressure to review their portfolio strategy in a bid to lock step with shareholder returns offered by majors in the U.S., where White House leader Donald Trump’s administration champions the resurging output of fossil fuels.

Shell has largely outpaced European peers, with shares up 11.3% in the year to date, but most recently notched a sharp drop in annual profit to $23.72 billion for full-year 2024, missing expectations. It announced a 4% hike in dividend per share and launched a $3.5 billion buyback program at the time.

“Shell’s share price has outperformed the peer group handily, and so it should not be a surprise that today’s update reads as more evolution than revolution,” RBC analysts said in a Tuesday note. “At the margin, the guidance looks better than expected, with higher cost reductions, capex guidance coming in lower at the midpoint versus consensus, and higher shareholder returns than anticipated.”

Shell’s stock was up 2% at 8:30 a.m. London time.

Environment

Florida rangers are now patrolling on electric bikes

Published

1 hour ago

August 15, 2025

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Florida rangers are now patrolling on electric bikes

Florida’s State Parks are stepping up their environmental and operational game, introducing a large fleet of powerful electric bikes to support park ranger patrols.

The Florida State Parks Foundation, under its sustainability-focused Greener Initiative, recently announced the expansion of e‑bike units across the state’s parks system. The fleet of Velotric Nomad e-bikes, each equipped with 750‑watt motors and with a claimed 65‑mile range, can offer a substantial 500‑lb payload capacity. They also feature 4″ wide fat tires optimized for riding on rough paths or off-road trails, making them ideal for park ranger patrols.

These e‑bikes are now being distributed to multiple locations throughout Florida, including Fort Clinch, Olustee Battlefield Historic, Rainbow Springs, Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center, and Suwannee River State Park.

According to Julia Gill Woodward, CEO of the Foundation, the overwhelming success of the first wave of e‑bikes prompted swift expansion. “The Greener Initiative has done incredible things to reduce our environmental footprint,” she noted, adding that it’s “even more amazing when Greener projects align with resources that support our rangers.”

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These additions bring the statewide fleet to 50 e‑bikes, funded via sales from the “Explore Our State Parks” specialty license plate. Starting in 2023, the Greener Initiative has rolled out a variety of efforts to make Florida’s parks cleaner and more efficient, including slashing emissions, cutting down on waste, lowering energy consumption, and enhancing the overall experience for visitors.

Electrek’s Take

I love this, and it’s a great example of how e-bikes are perfect for so many different patrol uses among park rangers, police officers, security companies, and other types of official fleet usage.

We’re seeing this more and more, and the reason is obvious: It works. E-bikes are a lot cheaper than alternatives like UTVs, golf carts, or “real” vehicles like cars and trucks. They require significantly less maintenance, and they’re a lot more fun too.

I just hope they mount some extra water bottle holders. I often ride in Florida, and in the summer, I can drink a gallon a day… on an electric bike!

Via: WCJB

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Environment

Meet the Lucid Gravity X: The electric SUV turned all-terrain beast

Published

2 hours ago

August 15, 2025

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Meet the Lucid Gravity X: The electric SUV turned all-terrain beast

Lucid’s most adventurous vehicle has just arrived. The Lucid Gravity can drive 450 miles on a single charge, comfortably fits seven, and is faster than the average sports car. Lucid promises the new X concept takes the electric family hauler to a new level.

Meet the Lucid Gravity X adventure-ready EV SUV

Lucid has been hyping the new model as “a bold new concept of electric exploration,” describing it as its most adventurous vehicle to date.

At Monterey Car Week on Friday, we finally got our first look at Lucid’s stunning new Gravity X concept. Based on the Lucid Gravity Grand Touring, which features an impressive up to 450 miles of EPA-estimated range, AWD, and a 0 to 60 mph sprint in just 3.4 secs, the X is designed to take you even further.

As Lucid put it, the X “advances this exceptional foundation, exploring what it would be like to push the limits further.

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The concept features a new look, lifted ride height, and added off-road elements for all on and off-road adventures. Lucid fine-tuned the front and rear ends to improve approach and departure angles. It also slapped all-terrain tires, protective skid plates, and tow hooks on it, just in case.

Like we first saw in the teaser, the X concept is equipped with an integrated crossbar with LED lights and a roof box.

Lucid says every detail on the new concept was intentional, from the Astral Drift satin paint to the topographical references to Big Spur and Death Valley on the hood.

The interior features upgrades, including premium leather seats, high-performance floor mats, and a microsuede steering wheel.

According to Lucid, the Gravity X, pronounced Gravity Cross, is “ready to go anywhere. Take on everything. And compromise nothing.”

Although it’s just a concept for now, the X gives us a glimpse into a future off-road Gravity trim. As we mentioned earlier this week, Lucid could be preparing to introduce a rugged new variant to compete with Rivian’s California Dune Edition R1S and R1T models.

What do you think of the rugged Gravity X Concept? Should Lucid bring it to life? It wouldn’t be surprising to see a new variant hit the market soon.

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Environment

Wheel-E Podcast: Bafang automatic shifting motor, 50 MPH scooter, more

Published

3 hours ago

August 15, 2025

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Wheel-E Podcast: Bafang automatic shifting motor, 50 MPH scooter, more

This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes new e-bikes from Heybike, the Priority Skyline launch, Segway’s new 50 MPH electric scooter, a Bafang hub motor with automatic shifting, and more.

The Wheel-E podcast returns every two weeks on Electrek’s YouTube channel, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

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We also have a Patreon if you want to help us to avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the Wheel-E podcast today:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 9:00 a.m. ET (or the video after 10:00 a.m. ET):

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