Shell completes acquisition of Danish RNG producer

Shell Petroleum, a wholly owned subsidiary of UK-based Shell, has completed the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Nature Energy Biogas, a Danish producer of renewable natural gas (RNG), Shell said on February 20.

The deal was first announced in November last year. By purchasing the shares in Nature Energy, Shell has acquired the largest producer of RNG in Europe, its portfolio of operating plants, associated feedstock supply and infrastructure, its pipeline of growth projects and its in-house expertise in the design, construction, and operation of innovative and differentiated RNG plant technology.

“This acquisition supports Shell’s ambitions to build an integrated RNG value chain at global scale and to profitably grow its low-carbon offerings to customers across multiple sectors,” it said.

“Nature Energy is a cash generative business, and the acquisition is expected to be accretive to Shell’s earnings from completion and to deliver double digit returns. Shell will generate additional value in our unsurpassed customer access and global scale in our trading and supply chain positions,” Shell added.

Nature Energy will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shell, initially under its existing brand. It was founded in 1979 as a natural gas distributor but has been developing RNG since 2015 and now has 14 operating plants producing some 6.5mn mnBtu/year. It also has 30 new projects in varying stages of development across Europe and the US, with more than a third in late-stage development in Denmark, the Netherlands and France that could deliver up to 9.2mn mnBtu/year of RNG by 2030.