Royal Dutch Shell PLC – Company Overview
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| Company | Royal Dutch Shell PLC |
| Headquarters | Carel van Bylandtlaan 30, 2596 HR, The Hague, The Netherlands |
| CEO | Ben van Beurden |
| CFO | Simon Henry |
| Industry | Oil and gas |
| Type | Public limited company |
| Founded | 1907 |
| Stock symbol | LSE: RDSA, RDSB; Euronext: RDSA, RDSB; and NYSE: RDS.A, RDS.B |
| Revenue | $264,960 million USD (2015) |
| Income for the period | $2,200 million USD (2015) |
| Employees | 90,000 (2015) |
| Website | http://www.shell.com/ |
| IR contact number | + 31 70 377 4540 |
Royal Dutch Shell PLC is one of the biggest oil companies in the world – currently ranked among the six oil and gas “supermajors”.
It was formed in February 1907, following a merger between the “Royal Dutch Petroleum Company” of the Netherlands and “Shell Transport and Trading Company Ltd” – which was a British company that originally imported seashells and sold them to collectors in the UK.
By the end of the 1920’s Shell was the largest oil company in the world – supplying 10% of crude oil.
The company enjoyed significant success – climbing its way to the top of the industry. However, its image was significantly damaged in the late 1990’s when Greenpeace and other environmental organizations criticized certain decisions the company had made that had negative effects on the environment.
Since, Shell has been working hard to improve its reputation whilst at the same time maintain its spot as a world leader in the oil industry.
Shell is active in nearly every aspect of the oil and gas industry, including: exploration, production, refining, trading, distribution, and marketing. The company also has minor operations in renewable energy – in the form of biofuels.
Shell has three major business areas:
Upstream – the operations of Shell’s Upstream business include exploring crude oil and natural gas and delivering these commodities to the market. This area of the company is grouped into two units: Upstream Americas (which covers the Americas) and Upstream International (which covers the rest of the world).
Downstream – this side of the business manages all aspects that have to do with manufacturing, distribution and marketing.
Projects & technology – manages the delivery of major projects and develops new technologies.
Company subsidiaries include: Shell Australia, Shell Canada, Shell Chemicals, Shell Gas & Power, Shell Nigeria, Shell Pakistan, Shell Oil Company
Royal Dutch Shell PLC – Financial Results
| Key figures (in millions of USD) | 2015* | 2014* |
| Revenue | $264,960 | $421,105 |
| Total expenditure | $270,109 | $403,030 |
| Income before taxation | $2,047 | $28,314 |
| Income for the period | $2,200 | $14,730 |
| Total assets | $340,157 | $353,116 |
| Cash and cash equivalents at January 1 | $21,607 | $9,696 |
| Cash and cash equivalents at December 31 | $31,752 | $21,607 |
*For the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014
Source: “Royal Dutch Shell PLC- 2015 Annual Report”
News about Royal Dutch Shell PLC reported by our Market Business News team
April 24, 2016: Shell unveils energy efficient petrol-burning concept car
January 8, 2016: Major Shell investor opposes proposed takeover of BG Group