Royal Dutch Shell
Type	Public (LSE: RDSA / RDSB) (NYSE: RDS.A / RDS.B)
Founded	1907
Headquarters	The Hague, Netherlands
Key people	Jeroen van der Veer, CEO Jorma Ollila, Chairman
Industry	Oil and gas
Products	Oil, natural gas, petrochemicals
Revenue	▲ US$355. A public company usually refers to a company that is permitted to offer its registered securities ( Stock, bonds, etc The London Stock Exchange or LSE is a Stock exchange located in London, England. The New York Stock Exchange ( NYSE) is a Stock exchange based in New York City. Year 1907 ( MCMVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Jeroen van der Veer (born October 27, 1947 in Utrecht, Netherlands) is the CEO of Oil company Royal Dutch A chief executive officer ( CEO) or chief executive is typically the highest-ranking corporate officer ( executive) or administrator Jorma Jaakko Ollila (born in Seinäjoki, Finland, on August 15, 1950) is the Chairman (1992–) and former CEO of For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious" These are lists of petroleum companies. List of companies by size of oil reserves A list of the largest petroleum companies is always somewhat arbitrary as state-owned companies In Marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a Market that might satisfy a want or need Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit Natural gas is a Gaseous Fossil fuel consisting primarily of Methane but including significant quantities of Ethane, Propane, Petrochemicals are chemical products made from raw materials of Petroleum or other Hydrocarbon origin In business revenue or revenues is Income that a company receives from its normal business activities usually from the sale of goods and services The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been 782 billion (2007)
Operating income	▲ US$52. In financial and business Accounting, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT is a measure of a firm's profitability that excludes interest and income tax expenses The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been 166 billion (2007)
Profit	▲ US$27. Net income is equal to the Income that a firm has after subtracting costs and Expenses from the total Revenue. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been 311 billion (2007)
Employees	104,000
Website	www.shell.com

Royal Dutch Shell plc, commonly known simply as Shell, is a multinational oil company of British and Dutch origins. Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages A Public Limited Company ( PLC, plc or plc or p l c is a type of Limited company in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland which is Multinational corporation ( MNC) or transnational corporation ( TNC) is a Corporation or enterprise that manages Production or delivers The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands It is the second largest private sector energy corporations in the world, and one of the six "supermajors" (vertically integrated private sector oil exploration, natural gas, and petroleum product marketing companies). In Economics, the private sector is that part of the economy which is both run for private Profit and is not controlled by the State. In Physics and other Sciences energy (from the Greek grc ἐνέργεια - Energeia, "activity operation" from grc ἐνεργός The term supermajor illustrates the six largest non state-owned energy companies as seen in popular financial mediums around the world In Microeconomics and Management, the term vertical integration describes a style of Management control. In Economics, the private sector is that part of the economy which is both run for private Profit and is not controlled by the State. Hydrocarbon exploration (or oil and gas exploration) is the search by petroleum Geologists for Hydrocarbon deposits beneath the Earth's surface Natural gas is a Gaseous Fossil fuel consisting primarily of Methane but including significant quantities of Ethane, Propane, Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit The company's headquarters are in The Hague, Netherlands, with its registered office in London, United Kingdom (Shell Centre). The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Shell Centre, in London, United Kingdom is one of the two "central offices" of Oil major Shell (the other is in The Hague ^[1]

The company's main business is the exploration for and the production, processing, transportation and marketing of hydrocarbons (oil and gas). In Organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an Organic compound consisting entirely of Hydrogen and Carbon. Shell also has a significant petrochemicals business (Shell Chemicals), and an embryonic renewable energy sector developing wind, hydrogen and solar power opportunities. Petrochemicals are chemical products made from raw materials of Petroleum or other Hydrocarbon origin "Shell Chemicals" is the Petrochemicals arm of Royal Dutch Shell. Renewable energy is Energy generated from Natural resources mdashsuch as Sunlight, Wind, Rain, tides and geothermal Wind Power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form such as electricity using Wind turbines At the end of 2007 worldwide capacity of wind-powered generators was The hydrogen economy is a proposed method of deriving the Energy needed for Motive power (cars boats airplanes buildings or portable electronics by reacting Solar energy is the Light and radiant heat from the Sun that powers Earth 's Climate and Weather and sustains Life Shell is incorporated in the UK with its corporate headquarters in The Hague, its tax residence is in Netherlands, and its primary listings on the London Stock Exchange and Euronext Amsterdam (only "A" shares are part of the AEX index). The London Stock Exchange or LSE is a Stock exchange located in London, England. Euronext NV is a pan- European Stock exchange based in Paris and with subsidiaries in Belgium, France, Netherlands The AEX index, derived from Amsterdam Exchange index, is a Stock market index composed of Dutch companies that trade on Euronext Amsterdam

Shell's revenues of $318. 8 billion in 2006 made it the third-largest corporation in the world by revenues behind only ExxonMobil and Wal-Mart. The Exxon Mobil Corporation, or ExxonMobil, is an American oil and gas Corporation and a direct descendant of John D Wal-Mart Stores Inc (or Walmart as written in its new logo is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large discount department stores Its 2006 gross profits of $26 billion made it the world's second most profitable company, after ExxonMobil and before BP. BP plc, previously known as British Petroleum, is the third largest global Energy company, a multinational oil company (" Oil major Forbes Global 2000 in 2007 ranked Shell the eighth largest company in the world. The Forbes Global 2000 is an annual ranking of the top 2000 Public companies in the world by Forbes magazine Also in 2007, Fortune magazine ranked Shell as the third-largest corporation in the world, behind Wal-Mart and ExxonMobil. Fortune is a Global Business Magazine published by Time Inc's Fortune|Money Group Wal-Mart Stores Inc (or Walmart as written in its new logo is an American public corporation that runs a chain of large discount department stores

Shell operates in over 140 countries. In the United States, its Shell Oil Company subsidiary, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is one of Shell's largest businesses. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Shell Oil Company is the United States -based affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell, a multinational oil company (" Oil major " of Anglo

The company has been the subject of criticism for its business practices and environmental record.

History

Shell Centre building next to the London Eye in London, UK

The Royal Dutch/Shell Group of companies was created in February 1907 when the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company (legal name in Dutch, N. Shell Centre, in London, United Kingdom is one of the two "central offices" of Oil major Shell (the other is in The Hague The London Eye, also known as the Millennium Wheel, is the tallest (its height is) Ferris wheel in Europe, and has become the most popular paid tourist London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located V. Koninklijke Nederlandsche Petroleum Maatschappij) and the "Shell" Transport and Trading Company Ltd of the United Kingdom merged their operations – a move largely driven by the need to compete globally with the then monopolistic American oil company, Standard Oil. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing transporting refining and marketing company The terms of the merger gave 60% of the new Group to the Dutch arm and 40% to the British. To celebrate its centenary in 2007 Shell launched a scholarship fund. ^[2]

Royal Dutch Petroleum Company was a Dutch company founded in 1890 by Jean Baptiste August Kessler, along with Henri Deterding and Hugo Loudon, when a Royal charter was granted by king William III of the Netherlands to a small oil exploration company known as "Royal Dutch Company for the Exploration of Petroleum Wells in the Dutch Indies" (now Indonesia). The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Henri Wilhelm August Deterding KBE (Hon, (19 April 1866 Amsterdam - 4 February 1939 St Moritz) was one of the founders of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company William III ( Willem Alexander Paul Frederik Lodewijk, anglicised William Alexander Paul Frederick Louis of Orange-Nassau) ( February 19,

The "Shell" Transport and Trading Company (the quotation marks were part of the legal name) was a British company, founded in 1897 by Marcus Samuel and his brother Samuel Samuel. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927 Year 1897 ( MDCCCXCVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Marcus Samuel 1st Viscount Bearsted JP ( 5 November 1853 &ndash 17 January 1927) was the founder of the Shell Transport and Trading Samuel Samuel ( 7 April 1855 - 23 October 1934) was a British businessman and Conservative politician The company was engaged in the trading of opium and other commodities with oriental countries.

In 1919, Shell took control of the Mexican Eagle Petroleum Company and in 1921 formed Shell-Mex Limited which marketed products under the "Shell" and "Eagle" brands in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located In 1931, partly in response to the difficult economic conditions of the times, Shell-Mex merged its UK marketing operations with those of British Petroleum to create Shell-Mex and BP Ltd, a company that traded until the brands separated in 1975. BP plc, previously known as British Petroleum, is the third largest global Energy company, a multinational oil company (" Oil major Shell-Mex and BP Ltd was a British joint marketing venture between Shell and British Petroleum.

In November 2004, following a period of turmoil caused by the revelation that Shell had been overstating its oil reserves, it was announced that the Shell Group would move to a single capital structure, creating a new parent company to be named Royal Dutch Shell plc, with its principal listing on the London Stock Exchange and the Amsterdam Stock Exchange and its headquarters in The Hague in the Netherlands. Oil reserves are the estimated quantities of Crude oil that are claimed to be recoverable under existing Economic and operating conditions The London Stock Exchange or LSE is a Stock exchange located in London, England. This entry is on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange before it merged into Euronext. The unification was completed on 20 July 2005. Events 1304 - Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle - King Edward I of England takes the last rebel stronghold Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Shares were issued at a 60/40 advantage for the shareholders of Royal Dutch in line with the original ownership of the Shell Group.

Under the old capital structure, Shell's ADRs were traded on the New York Stock Exchange under RD (Royal Dutch) and SC (Shell). An American Depositary Receipt (or ADR represents the ownership in the shares of a foreign company trading on US financial markets The New York Stock Exchange ( NYSE) is a Stock exchange based in New York City.

Origin of the Shell name and branding

A Shell service station's price board with the pecten brand

The origin of the brand name Shell is linked to the origins of The "Shell" Transport and Trading Company. ^[3] In 1833, the founder's father, also Marcus Samuel, founded an import business to sell seashells to London collectors. Marcus Samuel 1st Viscount Bearsted JP ( 5 November 1853 &ndash 17 January 1927) was the founder of the Shell Transport and Trading A seashell, also known as a sea shell, is the Common name for a hard protective outer layer a shell or in some cases a " test " that was created London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. When collecting seashell specimens in the Caspian Sea area in 1892, the younger Samuel realized there was potential in exporting lamp oil from the region and commissioned the world's first purpose-built oil tanker, the Murex (Latin for a type of snail shell), to enter this market; by 1907 the company had a fleet. Specimen are a British band formed in the 1980s Their music has been described as being comprised of many different genres of music including Glam, Goth The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged Sea. History The technology of oil transportation has evolved alongside the oil industry Murex is a Genus of medium to large sized Predatory tropical sea Snails These are carnivorous marine Gastropod

The Shell brand is one of the most familiar commercial symbols in the world. A brand is a collection of Images and ideas representing an economic producer more specifically it refers to the descriptive verbal attributes and concrete symbols such as a Known as the "pecten" after the sea shell, the giant scallop, pecten maximus, on which its design is based, the current version of the brand was designed by Raymond Loewy and introduced in 1971. A scallop (ˈskɒləp or /ˈskæləp/ is a marine Bivalve Mollusk of the family Pectinidae. Raymond Fernand Loewy ( 5 November, 1893 - 14 July, 1986) was one of the best known Industrial designers of the 20th century The yellow and red colours used are thought to relate to the colours of the flag of Spain as Shell built early service stations in the state of California which had strong connections with Spain. California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. ^[4]

Businesses

Shell oil depot in Kowloon, Hong Kong

The upstream provides two thirds of Shell's revenues

A Shell oil refinery in Martinez, California

One of the original Seven Sisters, Royal Dutch/Shell is the world's second-largest private sector oil company by revenue, Europe's largest energy group and a major player in the petrochemical industry. Kowloon refers to an urban area in Hong Kong made up of Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon, bordered by the Lei Yue Mun strait in the east Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders See also Extraction of petroleum The Petroleum industry is usually divided into three major components Upstream Midstream and downstream. An oil refinery is an industrial Process plant where Crude oil is processed and refined into more useful Petroleum products, such as Gasoline Martinez ( "mar-TEE-niss" or "mar-TEE-nezz") is the County seat of Contra Costa County California, United States The Seven Sisters of the Petroleum industry is a term coined by an Italian entrepreneur Enrico Mattei, that refers to seven oil companies that dominated mid

Core businesses

Shell has five core businesses: Exploration and Production (the "upstream"), Gas and Power, Refining and Marketing, Chemicals (the "downstream"), and Trading/Shipping, and operates in more than 140 countries. See also Extraction of petroleum The Petroleum industry is usually divided into three major components Upstream Midstream and downstream. The petroleum industry is usually divided into three major components Upstream, Midstream and downstream

Shell's primary business is the management of a vertically integrated oil company. In Microeconomics and Management, the term vertical integration describes a style of Management control. The development of technical and commercial expertise in all the stages of this vertical integration from the initial search for oil (exploration) through its harvesting (production), transportation, refining and finally trading and marketing established the core competencies on which the Group was founded. Similar competencies were required for natural gas, which has become one of the most important businesses in which Shell is involved, and which contributes a significant proportion of the company's profits. Natural gas is a Gaseous Fossil fuel consisting primarily of Methane but including significant quantities of Ethane, Propane,

While in the past the vertically integrated business model gave significant economies of scale and provided Shell with the opportunity to establish barriers to entry both geographically and on a more global scale, this has been less a possibility in more recent times. In Microeconomics and Management, the term vertical integration describes a style of Management control. In Economics and especially in the theory of Competition, barriers to entry are obstacles in the path of a firm which wants to enter a given Market As a result although the vertical integration remains there is much less interdependence between the businesses and each is now charged with being a self-supporting independent business without cross subsidies from other parts of the business chain. In Microeconomics and Management, the term vertical integration describes a style of Management control. Not to be confused with Interconnectivity or Interconnectedness.

Shell's oil and gas business is increasingly an assembly of independent and globally managed business segments each of which must be profitable in its own right. This can be a source of criticism, as some consumers see huge profits accruing from upstream income whilst price rises instituted by the independent downstream business anger motorists and other consumers.

The downstream, which now also includes the Chemicals business, generates a third of Shell's profits worldwide and is most recognised by its global networks of more than 40,000 petrol stations and its 47 oil refineries. A filling station, fueling station, gas station, service station, petrol station, or gasbar, Retail Outlet An oil refinery is an industrial Process plant where Crude oil is processed and refined into more useful Petroleum products, such as Gasoline

Diversification

Over the years Shell has occasionally sought to diversify away from its core oil, gas and chemicals businesses. These diversifications have included nuclear power (a short-lived and costly joint venture with Gulf Oil in the USA); coal (Shell Coal was for a time a significant player in mining and marketing); metals (Shell acquired the Dutch metals-mining company Billiton in 1970) and electricity generation (a joint venture with Bechtel called Intergen). Nuclear power is any Nuclear technology designed to extract usable Energy from atomic nuclei via controlled Nuclear reactions Gulf Oil was a major global oil company from the 1900s to the 1980s Electricity generation is the process of converting non-electrical Energy to Electricity. Bechtel Corporation ( Bechtel Group) is the largest Engineering company in the United States, ranking as the 9th-largest privately owned company in the None of these ventures were seen as successful and all have now been divested.

In recent years Shell has moved tentatively into alternative energy and there is now an embryonic "Renewables" business that has made investments in solar power, wind power, hydrogen, and forestry. Alternative energy is typically defined as coming from sources that do not deplete natural resources or harm. Renewable energy is Energy generated from Natural resources mdashsuch as Sunlight, Wind, Rain, tides and geothermal Solar energy is the Light and radiant heat from the Sun that powers Earth 's Climate and Weather and sustains Life Wind Power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form such as electricity using Wind turbines At the end of 2007 worldwide capacity of wind-powered generators was Hydrogen (ˈhaɪdrədʒən is the Chemical element with Atomic number 1 Forestry is the Art and Science of managing forests tree Plantations and related Natural resources. The forestry business went the way of nuclear, coal, metals and electricity generation, and was disposed of in 2003. Shell is, however, one of the world's largest investors in several renewables fields, such as solar^[5] and wind. ^[6] In 2004, Shell ranked fourth worldwide in terms of sales of solar products. ^[7]

Shell is also one of the world's largest investors in wind energy - Shell WindEnergy is to have a major share in what is planned as the world's largest wind farm, the London Array (1GW). The London Array is a planned offshore Wind farm in the outer Thames Estuary in the United Kingdom. ^[6] The company's partnership in the USA with Nedpower Mt Storm wind power project has proceeded less well, however, with delays, cost overruns and legal challenges.

Shell also is involved in large-scale hydrogen projects. HydrogenForecast. com describes Shell's approach thus far as consisting of "baby steps", but with an underlying message of "extreme optimism". ^[8]

Business priorities

Shell's principal focus remains on its core business activities. The strategy is described as "more upstream and profitable downstream". ^[9] Capital investments in 2006 totalled $24. 896 billion of which $418 million was in businesses (including Renewables) other than the core Oil, Gas and Chemicals sectors. ^[10]

Ownership

Prior to unification on 20 July 2005, the group was a dual listed company. Events 1304 - Wars of Scottish Independence: Fall of Stirling Castle - King Edward I of England takes the last rebel stronghold Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A dual-listed company or DLC (also referred to as a Siamese twin) is a corporate structure which involves two listed companies with different sets of shareholders The two holding companies were the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company of the Netherlands and the Shell Transport and Trading Company plc of the United Kingdom. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located These two companies jointly owned all the operating companies in the group, although some also have local shareholders and are traded on local stock markets. The Shell interest in subsidiaries was always divided 60/40 in favour of Royal Dutch. In many cases, subsidiary companies are held in partnership with other companies or governments. For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government.

The company's shares are divided into two classes, A and B, representing the former Royal Dutch and Shell shares respectively. This arrangement is probably for tax reasons.

Although to meet company law in all countries, there were executive and non-executive nominated directors of both Royal Dutch and Shell Transport and Trading, the Group had in fact been run by an executive body called the "Committee of Managing Directors" (CMD), whose members were the (executive) Managing Directors of the two parent companies.

There has been speculation that merger/takeover opportunities with BP would create the world's largest company. BP plc, previously known as British Petroleum, is the third largest global Energy company, a multinational oil company (" Oil major ^{[11] [12] [13]}.

Management

Executive committee

Shell's executive committee consists of:

• Jeroen van der Veer, Chief Executive
• Linda Cook, Executive Director Gas and Power
• Malcolm Brinded, Executive Director Exploration and Production
• Peter Voser, Chief Financial Officer
• Rob Routs, Executive Director Downstream Oil Products and Chemicals

In March 2007 it was announced that Mr. Jeroen van der Veer (born October 27, 1947 in Utrecht, Netherlands) is the CEO of Oil company Royal Dutch Linda Zarda Cook, is the American CEO of Shell Gas & Power, part of Royal Dutch Shell, in The Netherlands. Malcolm Brinded CBE (born 1953 is the current Executive Director Exploration & Production and a Managing Director of Royal Dutch Shell plc Brinded graduated Peter Voser (born August 29, 1958) is currently the Chief financial officer of Royal Dutch Shell plc Rob Routs is currently a Group Managing Director and member of the executive committee of Royal Dutch Shell plc and Executive Director of Shell's downstream business van der Veer's contract as CEO would be extended to June 2009, some twenty months beyond his normal Shell retirement date of October 2007. ^[14] He will be the first modern executive director of Shell to stay in office beyond the age of 60. An executive director is the senior manager or Executive officer of an Organization, company, or Corporation.

There has been speculation in the news media about candidates to be Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell Plc when van der Veer retires, with the front runners seen as Brinded, Cook, and Voser. ^[15][16]

Non Executive Directors

On 4 August 2005, the board of directors announced the appointment of Jorma Ollila, then Chairman and CEO of Nokia, to succeed Aad Jacobs as the company’s non-executive Chairman from 1 June 2006. Events 70 - The Destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Jorma Jaakko Ollila (born in Seinäjoki, Finland, on August 15, 1950) is the Chairman (1992–) and former CEO of Nokia Corporation (pronunciation /'nɔkiɑ/),,) is a Finnish multinational Communications Corporation, headquartered Events 193 - Roman Emperor Didius Julianus is Assassinated 987 - Hugh Capet is elected Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Ollila is the first Shell Chairman to be neither Dutch nor British.

Other non-executive directors include Maarten van den Bergh, Wim Kok, Nina Henderson, Lord Kerr, Adelbert van Roxe and Christine Morin-Postel. Maarten Albert van den Bergh (born Apr 19 1942, New York City) is a Dutch businessman Willem "Wim" Kok ( (born 29 September 1938 in Bergambacht) is a Dutch Politician.

Financial Data

Source :'OpesC'

Corporate responsibility and reputation

Main article: Controversies surrounding Royal Dutch Shell

Main article: Royal Dutch Shell environmental issues

Shell's operations have been subject to particular scrutiny by stakeholders – especially environmental and human rights groups and local communities. Earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortization (EBITDA is a non- GAAP metric that can be used to evaluate a company's profitability There have been concerns over Royal Dutch Shell over environmental and health and safety related issues as well as Royal Dutch Shell is engaged in a variety of business activities across the world which of necessity involves the extraction production handling processing storage and transportation Human rights refers to the "basic Rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled Over the years, Shell has been criticised in respect of a number of its operations. These have included its businesses in South Africa and Nigeria, notably in relation to protests of the Ogoni and Nigeria's execution of journalist Ken Saro-Wiwa, who spoke out against what he viewed as Shell's destruction of his tribe's homeland. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa Conflict in the Niger Delta arose in the early 1990s due to tensions between the foreign oil corporations and a number of the Niger Delta's minority ethnic The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP is a campaigning organization representing the Ogoni people in their struggle for ethnic and environmental rights Kenule "Ken" Beeson Saro-Wiwa ( October 10, 1941 &ndash November 10, 1995) was a Nigerian author television producer and ^[17] Militants in the delta enjoy widespread support as 20 million people remain rooted in poverty despite the enormous wealth generated in the oil-rich area, putting Nigeria among the leading Opec nations. Shell is the largest oil producer in Nigeria. ^[18]

Protests also regard the companys attitude to the environment, e. g. the disposal of the Brent Spar production platform in Britain. Brent Spar or Brent E was a North Sea oil storage and tanker loading Buoy in the Brent oilfield, operated by Shell UK

Shell's response to the problems of Brent Spar and Nigeria was to launch an internal review of processes and an external communications campaign to persuade stakeholders of their commitment to corporate social responsibility. Corporate social responsibility (CSR also called corporate responsibility corporate citizenship responsible business and corporate social opportunity is a concept whereby Organizations In response to criticism of its track record on environmental matters Shell published an unequivocal commitment to sustainable development, supported by executive speeches reinforcing this commitment. Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present ^[19] At the same time Shell Oil (the US subsidiary) was one of the first companies to leave the Global Climate Coalition, and the Group itself was never a member. The Global Climate Coalition was a group of mainly United States businesses opposing immediate action to reduce Greenhouse gas emissions ^[20] Shell Chairman Philip Watts gave a 2003 speech in Houston calling for skeptics to get off the fence and take action "before it is too late". Sir Philip Watts, KCMG is the former chairman of the multinational energy company Shell. ^[21] Shell is also a founding member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, which Watts led as Chairman in 2002/2003. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD is a CEO-led global association of some 200 international companies dealing exclusively with business and Sustainable

Delivering the annual business lecture hosted by Greenpeace in 2005, Shell chairman Lord Oxburgh said that we must act now on global warming or face a "disaster", and encouraged governments to provide a regulatory framework to encourage the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Greenpeace, originally known as the Greenpeace Foundation, was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1972

Shell's compliance to corporate social responsibility also includes its LiveWIRE programme. This initiative has over 21 years experience of encouraging young people to start and develop their own businesses in the UK and elsewhere in the world (26 countries). ^[23]

Shell whistleblowers

Official website for whistleblowers

Shell has said that it is committed to listening to stakeholders. This included the setting up of a global Internet-based facility for whistleblowers to report alleged violations of the law or of Shell General Business Principles, a voluntary code of ethics pledging transparency, integrity and honesty in all of Shell's business dealings. This is an article about a term For the 2008 RTÉ drama see Whistleblower (TV series. In the context of a code that is adopted by a profession or by a governmental or quasi-governmental organ to regulate that profession an ethical code may be styled as a code of professional In Economics, a market is transparent if much is Known by many about What products services or Capital assets are available Integrity is Consistency of actions values methods measures and principles Honesty is the human quality of communicating and acting Truthfully related to Truth as a value ^[24] The introduction on the Global Helpline website says "Reporting and addressing suspected violations of the law or the Shell General Business Principles (SGBP) is of critical importance in protecting our reputation and the value of the Shell brand. " Whistleblowers are asked to provide identity details but anonymous reports are also accepted. The Global Helpline operated by Global Compliance, Inc. is available to "customers, suppliers, partners, advisers and employees of Shell". ^[25]

Information from a document downloadable from the Helpline website via the link "Notice about the Shell Global Helpline", indicates that the Global Helpline was introduced as a way for "employees and others to raise concerns or dilemmas, or to seek advice on a matter related to compliance with the law and our ethical standards, in full confidence and without fear of retaliation. "

Allegations which can be reported include infringement of antitrust or competition law; acts of bribery and corruption; conflict of interest; money laundering; health, safety, security and environment issues; equal opportunity, harassment, substance abuse; sanctions breaking; improper use of intellectual property or IT resources; infringement of data privacy and "theft, fraud, forgery and the abuse of assets".

The same document warns that "misuse of the system to make a false allegation maliciously will not be tolerated and may result in disciplinary action. Attempts to trace an anonymous reporter may be made in these circumstances. "

A regional case manager assesses the information reported by a whistleblower and determines the appropriate action to be taken. At the conclusion of an investigation, the local Shell operating company "will decide on what action or actions should result in the event that an allegation has been found to be true. "

Unofficial website for whistleblowers

A number of newspapers have commented on an unofficial website used by Shell whistle blowers. On 18 March 2008, The Wall Street Journal described it as a Web site regularly used by Shell whistle blowers". Reuters has described the website as an unofficial company Web site" which "acts as a conduit for whistleblowers at the company. This article is primarily about Reuters prior to its 2008 merger with Thomson . . "

Corporate communications

Much of Shell's reputation-building advertising concentrated on the embryonic renewable energy business despite the fact that this remains a very small business compared to the core hydrocarbon extraction, processing and marketing operations. Renewable energy is Energy generated from Natural resources mdashsuch as Sunlight, Wind, Rain, tides and geothermal The corporate advertising campaign was (like a similar campaign by BP) described as "greenwash" by some non-governmental organization critics,^[26] but praised by other commentators. BP plc, previously known as British Petroleum, is the third largest global Energy company, a multinational oil company (" Oil major Greenwash (a Portmanteau of green and whitewash) is a term used to describe the perception of consumers that they are being misled ^[27] In response to questions which focused on the small percentage of its capital investment programme that was directed towards alternative energy Shell said that it would be "pointless" to say exactly how much of capital expenditure was going into renewable energy schemes. Alternative energy is typically defined as coming from sources that do not deplete natural resources or harm. Chief Executive Officer Jeroen van der Veer indicated that the investment in renewables was small, saying it would be "throwing money away" to invest in alternative energy projects that were noncommercial and people could not afford to buy. Jeroen van der Veer (born October 27, 1947 in Utrecht, Netherlands) is the CEO of Oil company Royal Dutch ^[28]

Oil reserves

In 2004, a disclosure about the overstatement of oil reserves was seen as the most serious crisis encountered in the Group’s nearly 100 years of history. The Economist asked in an article dated 11 March 2004 whether Shell could be seen as "another Enron", but answered its own question with "importantly, Shell's shifting of reserves (from “proven” to “probable”) simply cannot be compared with the phantom profits and bogus assets booked by Enron. The Economist is an English-language weekly news and International affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd and edited in London That is because the oil and gas actually still exists, and Shell still owns them as real, usable assets". ^[29] The crisis led to the dismissal of the chairman of the Committee of Managing Directors Philip Watts, and prompted a major reorganisation of the Group. Sir Philip Watts, KCMG is the former chairman of the multinational energy company Shell.

Other recent problems

Royal Dutch Shell's image suffered another blow when problems arose with the massive Sakhalin-II project in Russia and the controversial Corrib Gas Field development in Ireland. The Sakhalin II (Сахалин-2 project is one of the biggest oil and gas developments in the world Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The Corrib gas project entails exploiting a Natural gas deposit off the northwest coast of Ireland. Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world Shell's social investment initiative the Shell Foundation has also run into some controversy. The Shell Foundation is an initiative of the Oil major Royal Dutch Shell. In 2007 Friends of the Earth alleged that the damage caused by Shell's oil activities to local communities and the wider environment could be assessed at $20 billion. Friends of the Earth (HK is not a member of Friends of the Earth International ^[30]

Health and safety

Main article: Royal Dutch Shell safety concerns

A number of incidents over the years led to criticism of Shell's health and safety record, including repeated warnings by the UK Health and Safety Executive about the poor state of the company's North Sea platforms. An article entitled "Sharpening Shell’s safety culture" was published on 10 August 2007 on the Portal website of the energy multi-national Royal Dutch Shell Occupational safety and health is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the Safety, Health and welfare of people engaged in

Combination of Royal Dutch and Shell

Shell Research and Technology Centre, Amsterdam

On 28 October 2004, the company announced its proposal to merge Royal Dutch and "Shell" Transport and Trading into one entity, Royal Dutch Shell plc, to be "incorporated in the UK but headquartered and tax resident in the Netherlands". Amsterdam (pronounced) is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west Events 306 - Maxentius is proclaimed Roman Emperor. 312 - Battle of Milvian Bridge: Constantine "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " On 28 June 2005 investors in both Shell Transport and Trading and Royal Dutch approved, at their Annual General Meetings, plans to merge the Group's dual-ownership structure and create a single company worth £120bn ($219bn). Events 1098 - Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The new company's primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange and it employs around 104,000 people in 110 countries. The London Stock Exchange or LSE is a Stock exchange located in London, England. ^[31]

This type of business structure was not legally possible in 1907 when the Group was established, and the unique form of organisation that was then adopted by Shell, although durable, had come under criticism in recent years. Some critics thought that as the two parent companies had separate boards, with separate memberships, this meant that there was a certain amount of (undesirable) independence of each of the companies from the other. Others felt that the real power in Shell lay not with the two parent company boards at all but with the Committee of Managing Directors, which had no legal status but nevertheless took all the key operational decisions. The new organisational structure follows a more conventional business model in line with most other private sector oil companies and most commentators have commented favourably on the change, which they believe will establish a more transparent and accountable corporation. The Committee of Managing Directors was abolished under this new structure; board meetings will be more executive in character, and there will only be one Annual General Meeting per year.

Corporate governance

Traditionally, Shell was a heavily decentralised business worldwide (especially in the downstream) with operating companies in over 100 countries each of which operated with a high degree of independence. The upstream tended to be far more centralised with much of the detailed technical and financial direction coming from the central offices in The Hague. Nevertheless there were very large "Exploration and Production" companies in a small number of major oil and gas production centres such as the United Kingdom (Shell Expro, a Joint Venture with Exxon), Nigeria, Brunei, Oman etc. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Exxon is a brand of fuel sold by ExxonMobil. History Exxon formally replaced the Esso, Enco,

The downstream business, which in some countries also included oil refining, generally included a retail petrol station network, lubricants manufacture and marketing, industrial fuel and lubricants sales and a host of other product/market sectors such as LPG, bitumen etc. An oil refinery is an industrial Process plant where Crude oil is processed and refined into more useful Petroleum products, such as Gasoline A filling station, fueling station, gas station, service station, petrol station, or gasbar, Retail Outlet Bitumen is a mixture of organic Liquids that are highly Viscous, black sticky entirely soluble in Carbon disulfide, and composed primarily The custom and practice in Shell was that these businesses were essentially local in character and that they were best managed by local "operating companies" – often with middle and senior management reinforced by expatriates. An expatriate (in abbreviated form expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing In the 1990s this paradigm began to change and the independence of operating companies around the world was gradually reduced and today virtually all of Shell’s operations in all of its various businesses are much more directly managed from London and The Hague. The autonomy of “operating companies” has been largely removed as more "global businesses" have been created in all sectors. London is the headquarters of the downstream and other businesses and services whilst the management of the upstream business is the primary activity in the offices in The Hague. The petroleum industry is usually divided into three major components Upstream, Midstream and downstream See also Extraction of petroleum The Petroleum industry is usually divided into three major components Upstream Midstream and downstream.

United States and Canada

Shell service station near Lost Hills, California

Through most of Shell's history, its business in the United States, Shell Oil Company was substantially independent with its stock ("Shell Oil") being traded on the NYSE and with little direct involvement from the Group’s central offices in the running of the American business. A filling station, fueling station, gas station, service station, petrol station, or gasbar, Retail Outlet Lost Hills is a Census-designated place (CDP in Kern County, California, United States. Shell Oil Company is the United States -based affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell, a multinational oil company (" Oil major " of Anglo The New York Stock Exchange ( NYSE) is a Stock exchange based in New York City. This also changed in the 1990s when Shell firstly bought out the shares in Shell Oil that they did not own and then took a more hands on approach in the running of the business. In Canada, also previously very independent, Shell has completed its purchase of the shares in Shell Canada that it did not own in order to apply the new global business model to its Canadian operations. Shell Canada Limited is the subsidiary of Europe -based Royal Dutch Shell and one of Canada 's largest integrated oil Companies.

Australia

Main article: Shell Australia

Coles Express service station in Clontarf, Queensland

In Australia, retailer Coles Myer (Coles now part of Wesfarmers, Myer now part of Newbridge Capital) purchased the rights to the retail business from the existing Shell Australia multi-site franchisees in 2003 for an amount less than A$100 million. In Australia, Royal Dutch Shell conducts a large range of activities including Exploration for and the production and commercialisation of oil and natural Clontarf is a residential and light industrial suburb of the Moreton Bay Regional Council in the south-west of the Redcliffe peninsula, approximately north-northeast For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Coles Group Limited (formerly Coles Myer Limited was an Australian public company that operated numerous retail chains Wesfarmers ( is one of Australia ’s largest public companies and Australia's largest retailer with its headquarters in Perth Western Australia. In Australia, Royal Dutch Shell conducts a large range of activities including Exploration for and the production and commercialisation of oil and natural The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the Currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas This was in response to a popular discount fuel offer by rival Woolworths Limited launched some years earlier. Woolworths Limited is a major Australian company with extensive retail interest throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Coles Express' only affiliation with Shell is that Shell is the exclusive supplier of fuel and lubricant products, leases the service station property to Coles, and maintains the presence of the "pecten" and other Shell branding on the price board and other signage. Coles Express sets fuel and shop prices and runs the business, provides convenience and grocery merchandise through its supply chain and distribution network, and directly employs the service station staff.

Norway, Sweden and Denmark

On 27 August 2007, Royal Dutch Shell and Reitan Group, the owner of the 7-Eleven brand in Scandinavia, announced an agreement to rebrand some 269 service stations across Norway, Sweden and Denmark, subject to obtaining regulatory approvals under the different competition laws in each country. Events 479 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Persian forces led by Mardonius are routed by Pausanias, the Spartan Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Reitan Group or Reitangruppen is a Norwegian Wholesaler and Retail franchiser Included in its portfolio is REMA 1000 7-Eleven is a worldwide chain of Convenience stores It is since March 2007 the largest chain store in any category beating McDonald's by 1000 stores Terminology and usage As a cultural term "Scandinavia" has no official definition and is subject to usage by those who identify with the culture in question as well ^[32]

See also

• Algae fuel
• Coles Express
• Henri Deterding
• Lensbury
• Marcus Samuel, 1st Viscount Bearsted
• MESC
• Philip Watts
• Qatar Science & Technology Park, at which Shell will conduct gas-to-liquids R&D
• Royal Dutch Shell environmental issues
• Shell Guides, a series of guidebooks
• Shell Pakistan

References

External links

• The Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies
• Yahoo! - Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies Company Profile
• Profile @ Hoovers
• free online library containing over 17,000 articles relating to Royal Dutch Shell
• Interview Shell President Venezuela
• Shell Livewire website
• Shell Livewire global website
• HR BioPetroleum.

Bibliography

• "A Century in Oil" by Stephen Howarth [1997] ISBN 0 297 82247 0. A History of The "Shell" Transport and Trading Company.
• "A History of Royal Dutch Shell" by Stephen Howarth and others [2007]. ISBN 978 0199298778
• "Seven Sisters" by Anthony Sampson (1981) ISBN 978 0553234695
• "Shell Shock: The secrets and spin of an Oil Giant" by Ian Cummins and John Beasant [2005]. ISBN 1 84018 941 X