Shell (NYSE:SHEL), formerly known as Royal Dutch Shell plc, is a UK-based multinational oil and gas company. It is a vertically integrated and diversified company operating in all aspects of the oil industry. It is counted among the “super-majors” and one of the world’s largest companies in terms of scope, revenue and earnings. It is listed on the London LSE, the Amsterdam Euronext and the New York Stock Exchange.
Royal Dutch Shell plc was founded in 1907 because of Standard Oil’s growth and growing global dominance. It is a merger of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company (founded in 1890) and The “Shell” Transport Compay, founded in 1897. The Royal Dutch Petroleum Company was engaged in oil operations in southeast Asia while The “Shell” Transport Company was a family-owned import business focused initially on seashells.
The two operating segments of Royal Dutch Shell were not legally unified as a business for several reasons but acted as one company in all operations. The Royal Dutch Petroleum end of operations was responsible for the exploration and production of oil liquids and gasses while The “Shell” Transport Company was responsible for transport and storage.
The company purchased assets from the Rothschilds in 1912 boosted operations by more than double. This led to explosive growth but the WWI years were hard on the company. More than 15% of its global operations were destroyed and had to be rebuilt or replaced, an issue it will have to deal with more than once as it expands around the globe. By 1930, Royal Dutch Shell was the world's largest producer of petroleum products and chemicals, a standing it will maintain for many years.
The company was known as one of the 7 Sisters which dominated the oil market between 1940 to 1970 and in 1970 it helped to pioneer oceanic transport of liquified natural gas. It maintained its dual status with operations, headquarters and listing in both London and the Netherlands until 2005. In 2005 it unified and became a single entity with its headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands. That status lasted until 2022 when it unified once again, this time its Class A and Class B shares, and moved its headquarters to London.
Today Shell plc operates as a diversified energy company with global operations. It operates through 4 key segments that are Integrated Gas, Upstream, Oil Products and Chemicals. The Gas and Upstream segments explore for and extract petroleum products while the Oil Products and Chemicals segments refine, store, transport and markets feedstocks, fuel products and petrochemicals. At the end of 2021, the company had just over 9 billion in proven reserves, a figure that had been in decline for 6 years.
