The company said it wanted to move to a more conventional structure to make the company more competitive as it seeks to meet the challenges of shifting toward cleaner energy.

LONDON: Royal Dutch Shell proposed moving its headquarters from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom and streamlining its structure Monday in hopes of making it easier to move forward in a world transitioning away from a dependence on fossil fuels.

The company, which has been incorporated in the U.K. with Dutch tax residency and dual class shares since 2005, said it wanted to move to a more conventional structure to make the company more competitive as it seeks to meet the challenges of shifting toward cleaner energy.

Dutch officials said they were "unpleasantly surprised."

Fuel rates have now remained unchanged for the eighth consecutive day on Friday under the daily price revision mechanism followed by oil marketing companies (OMCs). The price of the fuel largely remained unchanged across the country, but the retail rates varied depending on the level of local taxes.

“I think that the next step is to start also litigating against financial institutions who make these emissions and fossil fuel projects possible,” said Roger Cox, lawyer for Milieudefensie, an environmental campaign group and the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth.

The Hague District Court on May. 26 ordered the Anglo-Dutch oil giant to reduce its global carbon emissions by 45% by the end of 2030, compared with 2019 levels.

While there is excitement about the potential of green hydrogen in some quarters, the sector also faces challenges.

In October, the CEO of Siemens Energy told CNBC there was “no commercial case” for it at this moment in time.

Norsk Hydro and fossil fuel giant Shell are to look into the potential of joint projects focused on green hydrogen production.