Lucy Wallwork Subheading Exercise

Anglo-Dutch company Shell was ranked in 2nd place on the 2011 Global Fortune 500 list of the world's most valuable companies. It engages worldwide in the principal aspects of the oil and gas industry in the Upstream, Downstream and Corporate segments, and also has interests in chemicals and other energy-related businesses.

In 2009 the company produced about 2% of the world's oil, a figure of 3.1 million barrels of gas and oil daily, and have 44,000 service stations world wide in over 90 countries, which constitutes the world's largest retail fuel network.

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.

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 $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.

In the 1990s, Shell was a member of the Global Climate Coalition in the US which campaigned against signing the Kyoto protocol on the grounds that there was not enough proof that global warming was being made worse by man-made carbon dioxide pollution.

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 dollar endowment from the Shell Group and an additional 10 year commitment of 160 million dollars. 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.

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

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

Iraq: Shell Operations in Iraq

Iran: Shell Operations in Iran

Libya: Shell Operations in Libya