Shell

= Global Snapshot =

Anglo-Dutch company Shell was ranked in first place on the 2012 Global Fortune 500 list of the world's most valuable companies. It engages worldwide in the upstream, downstream and corporate segments, and also has interests in chemicals and other energy-related businesses. In 2012 Shell was also ranked as the 7th largest oil company worldwide by production, with average daily production of 3.9 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day.

The company name "Shell" and the corporate logo were decided upon due to founder Marcus Samuel's background in importing and exporting oriental shells. He and his brother renamed their oil transport company the Shell Transport and Trading Company in 1897. Royal Dutch was a company formed to develop oil fields in the Dutch East Indies and the two companies joined forces in order to protect themselves against competitor Standard Oil. The full merger of the two companies came in 1907.

According to CNN, as access to oil gets tighter Shell is looking to develop its alternative energy assets and in 2010 signed an agreement with a Brazilian biofuel company called Cosan that makes ethanol from sugarcane. In 2011 Shell was also developing technology to build the first floating, liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, which would give the company an edge over competition when it comes to accessing fuel in deep water. This will be particularly critical as Shell has signed off on new drilling projects in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Brazil.

Company Report Highlights
According to Shell's 2010 Annual Review, 2010 was a 'good year for Shell', in which new business opportunities were generated for further growth over the 2014-20 period.

Earning for the year were at US$20.5 billion, a 61% rise on 2009 figures, and earnings per share rose by 90%. Oil and gas production volumes increased by 5% and sales volumes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) were up by 25%. Sales volumes of oil products and chemical products also grew by 5% and 13%, respectively.

The company brought six key projects on-stream over 2010. In Nigeria, the Gbaran-Ubie project started producing oil and gas and production started at the Perdido offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The company also saw the first output increases from the expansion of the Athabasca Oil Sands project in Canada.

Downstream, the business was restructured and many refining and marketing assets were sold in Finland, Sweden, New Zealand and other locations. These divestments are aimed to allow the company to focus on its commercial strengths in large markets and markets with growth potential.

=Official Accreditations and Global Perceptions=

EITI Supporter Status
As of December 2011, Shell was a supporting company of the EITI.

UN Global Compact
As of December 2011, Shell was a member of the UN Global Compact, having joined in July 2000.

CSR Review

 * According to company documents, Royal Dutch Shell's CSR activities include the Shell Foundation, which was established by the Shell Group in 2000 as an independent, UK registered charity operating with a global mandate. They received an initial $250 million endowment from the Shell Group and an additional 10 year commitment of $160 million. and was set up after Shell was associated in public opinion with two damaging rows in the mid-1990s - the disposal of the Brent Spar oil rig and the execution of the poet and anti-oil activist Ken Saro-Wiwa in Nigeria.


 * Another initiative from Shell is LiveWIRE, a social investment programme that aims to help young people around the world explore the option of starting their own business as a real and viable career option, launched in 1982 and now working in 21 countries worldwide.

External Coverage

 * In 2004 Shell was fined £17 million by the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) and chairman Philip Watts was ousted after the company was found to have overstated its oil reserves. In 2009 an Amsterdam court of appeal cleared the way for approximately US $352.6 million in compensation to be paid out to non-US shareholders over the affair.


 * In 2008 the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) decided that Shell should not have used the word "sustainable" for its controversial tar sands project and a refinery scheme, ruling that one of the company's adverts breached rules on substantiation, truthfulness and environmental claims.


 * Industry watchdog Platform accused Shell in 2011 of funding armed gangs and fuelling human rights abuses in Nigeria, allegations which the company denied. The organisation stated that while primary responsibility for such violations falls on the Nigerian government and others, Shell has played an "active role in fuelling conflict and violence", regularly arming militias and transferring over $159,000 to a group credibly linked to militia violence.
 * A 2011 report by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) criticized Shell for contributing to 50 years of pollution in the oil-rich Ogoni region in the Niger Delta, stating that it calls for the world's largest ever oil clean-up and that it would cost an initial $1 billion and take up to 20 years.


 * In 2012 Shell's subsidiary in Nigeria was ordered by a Nigerian court to pay over $25 million to five communities in Imo state for a 1997 oil spill.

= Global Operations by Country=

Egypt
"Main article: Shell Operations in Egypt"

Iraq
"Main article: Shell Operations in Iraq"

Iran
"Main article: Shell Operations in Iran"

Libya
"Main article: Shell Operations in Libya"

Syria
"Main article: Shell Operations in Syria"

= References =