Shell boss Ben van Beurden told an industry conference in London on Tuesday that governments would probably have to tax energy companies more to
protect the poorest from the energy crisis.
“We cannot have a market that behaves in such a way … that it will inflict damage on a significant portion of society,” he said during a question and answer session at the Energy Intelligence Forum conference.
“Somehow there has to be government intervention that translates … into protecting the poorest people and that probably means governments have to tax the people in this room to pay for it,” he elaborated before an audience of energy executives and company directors.
“I think we have to accept this social reality,” he insisted, adding, however, that “it could be done in an intelligent way or not.”
The leader was referring to the taxation of energy companies at a time when their profits have soared since the war in Ukraine, which has led to a surge in oil and gas prices in recent months, although they have fallen from the highs reached just after the start of the Russian offensive.
Mr. van Beurden and Shell did not comment on the appropriate way to tax companies in the sector, which in particular has taken issue with a special tax that was decided by the predecessor of Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng and which the new government
curator of Liz Truss will not expand.
The leader, who has just announced that he will leave office at the end of 2022, has also shown himself to be dubious about the idea of a price ceiling for Russian oil.
Several countries are calling for a limit on the sale price of Russian oil to undermine the windfall that allows Moscow to finance, in particular, its military intervention in Ukraine.
In September, the G7 countries decided to put an “urgent” price cap on the price, a mechanism that is complex to put in place, and invited a “broad coalition” of countries to implement it.
“I have a hard time understanding how a cap on Russian oil prices can be effective,” van Beurden said during the Energy Intelligence Forum conference, according to remarks relayed on Twitter.
“Intervening in complex energy markets will be very difficult. Governments need to consult with market experts on what they can and cannot do in terms of intervention,” he continued.
