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Royal Dutch/Shell Profile

Royal Dutch Shell is a multinational petroleum company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands. In 2009, Fortune Magazine listed Shell as the world’s largest corporation with over 100,000 employees and operations in over 140 countries. In terms of profit, Shell is a runner-up only to one other oil company, Exxon Mobile. Sales for the Shell Company in 2009 reached over $2.85 billion, and it is regarded as one of the world’s six “supermajor” companies that control private sector oil, petroleum, and natural gas production.

The company was formed in February 1907 following the merger of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and the Shell Transport and Trading Company (of British origin). Royal Dutch held 60 percent of the earnings with Shell Transport at 40 percent. The merger was motivated by an effort to compete with the then-global dominance of John D. Rockefeller’s petroleum company, Standard Oil. Following World War II, demand for oil grew. In the United States alone, the number of cars rose by 60 percent in only five years. Oil wells were successfully drilled in the Gulf of Mexico, and the company expanded rapidly. Political events like the OPEC collapse and the closing and re-opening of markets in the USSR kept the company on its toes and it learned to constantly readjust and remain afloat. In 2005, the company dissolved the partnership structure and reorganized to create one single corporation.

Royal Dutch Shell plc shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange, Euronext Amsterdam and the New York Stock Exchange in ADR form. Share prices in May 2010 were around $50 USD. Since the oil sector accounts for over 13 percent of stock traded in the UK, and sine Shell is one of the prominent players in that area, Shell stock acts as a barometer of the British economy as a whole. Price changes in the stock usually indicate major trends in the broader economy.

The current business model is that of a vertically integrated oil company. This involves the development of commercial enterprises in all stages of oil production, including exploration, harvesting and production, transportation, refining, and marketing the product. Shell has also expanded to natural gas, which now contributes a significant portion of the company’s income. Although Shell controls business at all levels, the extreme size of the company means that each level functions somewhat independently from the others. They are self-supporting units with subsidies.

Much of Shell’s business can be separated into two areas of focus: upstream and downstream. The upstream components include the industries that explore and extract oil and natural gas. They are grouped into two units for organization: Upstream Americas, covering only the Americas, and Upstream International, to cover interests in the rest of the world.

Downstream industries cover all activities needed to get the products like fuels, lubricants and bitumen to consumers. This includes refineries, as well as the world’s largest fleet of liquefied natural gas carriers and oil tankers. The company also has interests in the development of technology to support their work. Environmental projects have been especially important recently. Shell was an important investor in CO2 injection technology in the 1970’s, which is an enhanced recovery process that may be a key technique in preventing climate change.

Shell has worldwide oil reserves of 14.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The company has also begun investing in Athabasca Oil Sands Project, which converts oil sands in Alberta to synthetic crude oil. The Shell name is also attached to 44,000 gas stations in more than 80 countries, making it the world’s largest retail fuel corporation.

Much of Shell’s oil production occurs in Nigeria; oil refineries there have also been the source of many human rights controversies. In 2009, Shell was the subject of an Amnesty International report into human rights violations as a consequence of Shell's activities in the Niger Delta. In particular, Amnesty criticized Shell's inadequate response to oil spills. Shell has paid money in settlements but has not acknowledged liability.

Shell, Texaco, and Saudi Aramco began a joint venture in 1997 to combine their United States refining and marketing businesses. Peter Voser is the current CEO of Shell, and he happens to be the first non-Dutch and non-British CEO of the company. Henry Simon serves as the CFO.

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Royal Dutch/Shell Profile Royal Dutch Shell is a multinational petroleum company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands. In 2009, Fortune Magazine listed Shell as the world’s largest corporation with over 100,000 employees and operations in over 140 countries. In terms of profit, Shell is a runner-up only to one other oil company, Exxon Mobile. Sales for the Shell Company in 2009 reached over $2.85 billion, and it is regarded as one of the world’s six “supermajor” companies that control private sector oil, petroleum, and natural gas production. The company was formed in February 1907 following the merger of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and the Shell Transport and Trading Company (of British origin). Royal Dutch held 60 percent of the earnings with Shell Transport at 40 percent. The merger was motivated by an effort to compete with the then-global dominance of John D. Rockefeller’s petroleum company, Standard Oil. Following World War II, demand for oil grew. In the United States alone, the number of cars rose by 60 percent in only five years. Oil wells were successfully drilled in the Gulf of Mexico, and the company expanded rapidly. Political events like the OPEC collapse and the closing and re-opening of markets in the USSR kept the company on its toes and it learned to constantly readjust and remain afloat. In 2005, the company dissolved the partnership structure and reorganized to create one single corporation. Royal Dutch Shell plc shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange, Euronext Amsterdam and the New York Stock Exchange in ADR form. Share prices in May 2010 were around $50 USD. Since the oil sector accounts for over 13 percent of stock traded in the UK, and sine Shell is one of the prominent players in that area, Shell stock acts as a barometer of the British economy as a whole. Price changes in the stock usually indicate major trends in the broader economy. The current business model is that of a vertically integrated oil company. This involves the development of commercial enterprises in all stages of oil production, including exploration, harvesting and production, transportation, refining, and marketing the product. Shell has also expanded to natural gas, which now contributes a significant portion of the company’s income. Although Shell controls business at all levels, the extreme size of the company means that each level functions somewhat independently from the others. They are self-supporting units with subsidies. Much of Shell’s business can be separated into two areas of focus: upstream and downstream. The upstream components include the industries that explore and extract oil and natural gas. They are grouped into two units for organization: Upstream Americas, covering only the Americas, and Upstream International, to cover interests in the rest of the world. Downstream industries cover all activities needed to get the products like fuels, lubricants and bitumen to consumers. This includes refineries, as well as the world’s largest fleet of liquefied natural gas carriers and oil tankers. The company also has interests in the development of technology to support their work. Environmental projects have been especially important recently. Shell was an important investor in CO2 injection technology in the 1970’s, which is an enhanced recovery process that may be a key technique in preventing climate change. Shell has worldwide oil reserves of 14.1 billion barrels of oil equivalent. The company has also begun investing in Athabasca Oil Sands Project, which converts oil sands in Alberta to synthetic crude oil. The Shell name is also attached to 44,000 gas stations in more than 80 countries, making it the world’s largest retail fuel corporation. Much of Shell’s oil production occurs in Nigeria; oil refineries there have also been the source of many human rights controversies. In 2009, Shell was the subject of an Amnesty International report into human rights violations as a consequence of Shell's activities in the Niger Delta. In particular, Amnesty criticized Shell's inadequate response to oil spills. Shell has paid money in settlements but has not acknowledged liability. Shell, Texaco, and Saudi Aramco began a joint venture in 1997 to combine their United States refining and marketing businesses. Peter Voser is the current CEO of Shell, and he happens to be the first non-Dutch and non-British CEO of the company. Henry Simon serves as the CFO.