Shell plc

What does Shell own?
Shell operates across oil and gas exploration and production, LNG, refining, chemicals, and retail energy. The company owns approximately 46,000 retail service stations globally, major LNG production facilities in Australia, Malaysia, Nigeria, and other countries, refineries and chemical plants, and the Shell Recharge EV charging network.

Is Shell publicly traded?
Yes, Shell plc trades on the London Stock Exchange and NYSE under ticker symbol SHEL. The company has no controlling shareholder, with ownership distributed among institutional investors and individual shareholders globally.

What is Shell's annual revenue?
In FY2024, Shell reported total revenue of approximately $284.3 billion, a decrease from prior years as crude oil and gas prices declined from elevated 2022-2023 levels. Adjusted earnings for FY2024 were approximately $23.7 billion.

Who is Shell's CEO?
Wael Sawan has served as Chief Executive Officer of Shell since January 2023, succeeding Ben van Beurden. Sawan is a Lebanese-Canadian executive who joined Shell in 1997 and previously led the Integrated Gas and Renewables and Energy Solutions segments.

What is Shell's history?
Shell traces its origins to the 1907 merger of Royal Dutch Petroleum Company (Netherlands) and Shell Transport and Trading Company (United Kingdom). The merged company, Royal Dutch Shell, became one of the world's largest oil companies. In 2022, Shell simplified its structure into a single company, Shell plc, headquartered in London.

How many gas stations does Shell operate?
Shell operates approximately 46,000 service stations globally under the Shell brand, making it one of the world's largest retail fuel networks. The company is also investing in EV charging infrastructure through Shell Recharge to serve customers transitioning to electric vehicles.

Shell's origins trace to two separate companies that merged in 1907. The Shell Transport and Trading Company was founded in 1897 by Marcus Samuel, a British merchant who had developed a business importing seashells from the Far East (hence the Shell name) and later expanded into oil transport. The company built the first oil tanker designed to pass through the Suez Canal, giving it a competitive advantage in transporting oil from the Caspian Sea to Asian markets.

Royal Dutch Petroleum Company was founded in 1890 in the Netherlands to develop oil fields in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia). The company grew rapidly and became a major oil producer in Southeast Asia.

In 1907, Royal Dutch Petroleum and Shell Transport and Trading merged their operations into a dual-company structure, with Royal Dutch holding 60% and Shell Transport holding 40%. This structure, known as Royal Dutch Shell, persisted for nearly a century. The merged company quickly became one of the world's largest oil companies, competing with Standard Oil and other major producers.

Throughout the 20th century, Shell expanded globally, developing oil fields in the Middle East, Africa, North America, and other regions. The company became a major force in the global oil industry, operating refineries, chemical plants, and retail networks across dozens of countries.

Shell faced significant controversy in the 1990s related to its operations in Nigeria. The company's operations in the Niger Delta were associated with environmental damage and human rights concerns, and the execution of activist Ken Saro-Wiwa by the Nigerian government in 1995, following his protests against Shell's operations, generated intense international criticism. Shell has since invested in community development programs in Nigeria and updated its human rights policies.

In 2004, Shell disclosed that it had overstated its proven oil and gas reserves by approximately 20%, a revelation that damaged the company's credibility and led to significant management changes, regulatory investigations, and financial penalties.

Shell simplified its corporate structure in January 2022, consolidating from the dual Royal Dutch/Shell structure into a single company, Shell plc, incorporated in the United Kingdom and headquartered in London. The restructuring was intended to simplify governance, improve strategic flexibility, and facilitate share buybacks.

Wael Sawan became CEO in January 2023, succeeding Ben van Beurden. Sawan, a Lebanese-Canadian executive who joined Shell in 1997, has led a strategic refocus on financial returns and capital discipline, including a reduction in Shell's renewable energy investments relative to the more ambitious targets set under his predecessor.

Shell has faced significant environmental and legal challenges related to climate change. In 2021, a Dutch court ordered Shell to reduce its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels, a ruling that Shell appealed. The case, brought by environmental groups including Friends of the Earth Netherlands, was a landmark ruling applying climate obligations to a private company.

Shell's operations in Nigeria have been subject to ongoing controversy regarding oil spills, environmental damage in the Niger Delta, and human rights concerns. The company has faced lawsuits in multiple jurisdictions related to pollution from its Nigerian operations.

The 2004 reserves overstatement scandal, in which Shell disclosed it had overstated proven reserves by approximately 20%, resulted in regulatory investigations, financial penalties, and significant management changes.