Shell Australia to acquire environmental services firm Select Carbon

(Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell’s Australia unit said on Monday it will buy environmental services firm Select Carbon as it seeks to cut back its emissions and expand its low-carbon and renewable power business.

Shell did not disclose a value for the deal, but said it will help in contributing towards the company’s ambition of being a “net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 or sooner.”

Last year, Shell made its first foray into Australia’s highly competitive power sector with a A$617 million ($441 million) takeover offer for ERM Power.

The Anglo-Dutch company has made a number of large investments in renewables and electric vehicle technologies, and plans to boost spending on its power division to $2 to $3 billion per year by 2025 as the world rapidly shifts towards cleaner energy.

Select Carbon specializes in developing carbon farming and manages a portfolio of over 70 projects encompassing over 9 million hectares across Australia, according to the company’s website.

Shell expects the deal to be completed before the end of the year, it said in a statement.

(Reporting by Shriya Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; editing by Richard Pullin)