UB Geografia d'Europa: textos de suport  

THE ROYAL DUTCH / SHELL GROUP

Introduction

Energy links together the companies of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, for they produce, process and deliver it. Operating across the globe, in more than 130 countries and with more than 100,000 staff, Shell companies are guided by values developed over more than a century of successful enterprise.

People are demanding cleaner, more sustainable methods of generating the electricity that industrialized society needs. Increasingly, the fuel of choice is clean-burning natural gas. Shell companies are not only finding, extracting, processing and delivering the gas but also building gas-fired power plants that transform it into electricity.

With a network of more than 46,000 petrol stations spanning the globe, Shell companies serve approximately 20 million fuel customers every day. Meeting their needs - providing the products and services they want - is a key business aims. A 1998 survey conducted in 69 countries revealed Shell to be the most preferred brand in the majority of the countries.

Hydrocarbons are the raw materials for an astonishing variety of chemicals. Parts of almost every man-made object in use today - from kitchen utensils to satellites - have been made from petrochemicals. And the trend will continue: the petrochemicals industry develops ever more sophisticated and adaptable materials that are in turn used to create ever more imaginative and useful products.

Petrol, jet fuel, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas - these fuels, together with engine oils and lubricants give us the mobility we need for work and play. Shell companies aim to provide these products. And for the future, Shell continues to research opportunities for new fuels, such as hydrogen, which come from changes in vehicle technology.

The resources that can be converted into usable energy are often bulky and difficult to transport. Shell brings to bear more than a century of experience and accumulated knowledge to ensure that potentially dangerous substances are handled in the safest manner.

Forests can produce never-ending supplies of fuel while soaking up carbon dioxide, one of the "greenhouse gases" implicated in global warming. Shell companies are dedicated to finding out whether this resource can be developed in a sustainable and environmentally sensitive way.

Millions of tonnes of petrochemicals are transformed every year into the products we need and want. To manufacture the petrochemicals to make those products, Shell companies bring together technological know-how and capital from around the world, ensuring that resources are used in the most efficient way possible.
 

Energy for people, now and in the future

Energy is to society what food is to the individual: absolutely essential sustenance. And yet there are growing concerns about how energy production and use affects the environment and peoples' lives. Being primarily in the energy business, we at Shell have to show that our activities do not lead to unsustainable social differences but create wealth that can benefit society as a whole. And we need to show, through action, that our industry can develop in such a way that future generations might benefit as well.

To that end, we have to operate ever more cleanly and efficiently while advancing renewable sources of energy. And we should never lose sight of the social impact of our operations. That is why we have committed ourselves to contributing to sustainable development: integrating the economic, social and environmental aspects of everything we do while balancing short-term wants with long-term needs.

Shell is investing in solar power, in hydrogen-based energy sources, in fast-growing trees and in wind power. At the same time, we understand that it is impossible to simply stop producing present forms of energy; the economic disruption would be catastrophic, particularly in the developing world. So we are minimizing the waste associated with the exploration and production of hydrocarbons and are investing heavily in natural gas, the cleanest fossil fuel available today. We are also sharpening our accountability, improving the transparency of our decision-making and refocusing our support of social programmes.
 
 

Organisation

Organized into five core businesses - Exploration and Production, Oil Products, Chemicals, Gas and Power, and Renewables - Shell companies operate independently, although they draw on a common network of service companies and comply with one and the same set of business principles. The service companies provide a range of specialist advice and resources, and the principles ensure that all companies perform to the same high level in the economic, environmental and social domains.

Each core business is headed by a chief executive officer with broad overall responsibility. The CEOs report to a Committee of Managing Directors made up of the executive directors serving on the Boards of the two listed Parent Companies: Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and The "Shell" Transport and Trading Company, p.l.c.

Exploration and Production: Searching for oil and gas fields by means of seismic surveys and exploration wells; developing economically viable fields by drilling additional wells and building the infrastructure of pipelines and treatment facilities necessary for delivering the hydrocarbons to market.

Oil Products: Refining and processing crude oil and other feedstocks into transportation fuels, lubricants, heating and fuel oils, liquefied petroleum gas and bitumen; distributing and marketing them - together with complementary services - to meet customer needs.

Chemicals: Processing hydrocarbon feedstocks into the chemical precursors of all manner of modern products - plastics, detergents, solvents and coatings, to name but a few; supplying catalysts to the oil refining and petrochemical industries.

Gas and Power: Processing, selling and delivering natural gas by long-distance pipeline and - in liquefied form - by tanker; selling and delivering the liquid by-products of natural gas processing; providing local gas supplies; developing and operating power stations.

Renewables: Cultivating sustainable, commercial hardwood forests; converting wood fuel into marketable energy products; implementing rural electrification projects in developing countries; manufacturing and marketing solar panels and associated electrical systems; developing wind energy projects.
 

Parent companies

As Parent Companies, Royal Dutch Petroleum Company (Royal Dutch) and The Shell Transport and Trading Company, p.l.c. (Shell Transport) do not themselves directly engage in operational activities. They are public companies; Royal Dutch is domiciled in the Netherlands, and Shell Transport in the UK. The Parent Companies own the shares in the Group Holding Companies but are not themselves part of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies. They appoint Directors to the Boards of the Group Holding Companies, from which they receive income in the form of dividends. Royal Dutch derives most of its income in this way, on the basis of its 60% interest in the Group; the other 40% is owned by Shell Transport.


 

View of the future

Action on sustainable development, human rights, environment, transparency and engagement as well as providing greater choice for consumers is right for our fast-changing world and necessary for our continued success.

Highlights

We must get right the `softer' aspects of business: leadership, empowerment and diversity

Our plans for new products and changes in the Group 's portfolio of businesses are based on a view of the future that focuses on satisfying the expected demands of our customers and the broader needs of society they represent. Our success depends on us devising innovative and profitable ways to provide sustainable solutions that satisfy customer needs.

We use scenarios - plausible and challenging stories of the future - to help us plan. Scenarios are not forecasts; rather they offer very different stories of how the future might look. They challenge the mental maps we hold and help create a common language with which the future can be discussed.

Our view on the Group's future is broadly influenced by two scenarios we have developed, which are shaped by a powerful set of forces - globalisation, liberalisation and new technologies - which are sweeping the world, creating enormous challenges as well as new opportunities. These are complemented by the influence of individuals - rich and poor - who are, in many parts of the world, becoming wealthier, better educated and freer to choose. This is creating a more spontaneous, unstructured and less predictable environment.
 

The two scenarios are:

Businesses will need to respond to both sets of influences, described in the scenarios, if they are to be robust enough to deal with change. The scenarios raise fundamental questions that businesses must confront, such as:


The way forward

It is the issues raised by these scenarios that we include in our considerations when planning the Group's future. Our thinking has confirmed that the activities described on this website - such as action on sustainable development, human rights, diversity at work, engagement with our employees and critics, providing greater choice for consumers, tighter environmental standards and greater transparency - are right for our fast-changing world and necessary for the success of our business in the future.

In the medium term, our success will depend on selling the sorts of fuels that society demands. These fuels are gradually moving away from those with a high concentration of carbon, such as coal, to fuels with lower carbon contents, such as oil and especially gas. In The New Game, for example, we envisage that gas and renewables will meet almost 50% of the fuel requirements for power generation in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries by 2020. We expect this trend to continue as new fuels, such as hydrogen and renewable energy, get cheaper and easier to use.

Fossil fuels currently meet about 85% of the world's energy needs. There are no alternatives available now that are cheap enough to fully replace conventional fuels. There is a great challenge for the energy industry to develop alternative energy options that are both economic and environmentally acceptable.

Gas is likely to be in high demand over the next few decades because it is abundant, can be converted efficiently into electricity, is relatively cheap to find and transport, and emits far less CO2 and other pollutants than competing fossil fuels. The `energy transition' is beginning; our longer- term energy scenarios show that the 21st century will see an increasingly diverse energy market where a wide range of energy solutions is made available.

The move towards fuels with less carbon - decarbonisation - will mean that the Group may need to reduce its interests in some areas and increase its focus on others. The Group's portfolio naturally reflects the desires of the market and available technological options. In the shorter term, the Group needs to remain competitive in the hydrocarbon business and meet the growing demands of the market for cheap and sustainable energy products and services, while growing its start-up businesses in photovoltaics, biomass, wind and hydrogen.

Recent mergers and acquisitions among corporations were driven by managers attempting to improve the value of their companies in a fast-changing world. Our scenarios show that management must get right not just the `hard' aspects of business - portfolio, business structures, and technology - but also aspects of leadership such as empowerment and diversity. All will be essential for the long-term success of the Group.
 

Leadership and relationships

To enable us to succeed in the fast-changing world we are undergoing fundamental change - transforming ourselves on both the personal and organisational level. A diverse team of individuals with broad-ranging internal and external experience (the LEAP team) has been working for the past two years to accelerate this change - empowering Shell people and companies to excel.

LEAP runs seven Group-wide learning and development programmes for staff at all levels. Some programmes provide the individual with the skills needed to lead and support radical change, while others focus on delivering a step change in business performance. The programmes focus on developing the tools and capability for businesses and individuals to continue to transform the way they do business.
 

Our approach to energy for the future

Our plans for new products and changes in our business portfolio are focused on satisfying the demands of our customers and the broader needs of society - now and in the future. As an energy business, our success will depend on selling the sorts of fuels that society demands. These fuels are gradually moving away from those containing a lot of carbon, such as coal, to those containing less carbon, such as gas. We expect this trend to continue as new fuels such as hydrogen and renewable energy, get cheaper and easier to use.

As expressed in one of our scenarios it is possible that gas and renewables could meet almost 50% of the fuel requirements for power generation in Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries by 2020.

Fossil fuels currently meet about 85% of the world's energy needs. There is a great challenge for the energy industry to develop alternative options that are both economic and more environmentally acceptable.

We have been experimenting with renewable energy technologies for 20 years. In 1997, we made a commitment to invest US$500 million over five years to significantly increase the renewables side of our business. For this purpose, we created another core business called "Shell International Renewables". Setting up this business is part of our strategic commitment to the development of sustainable energy. In 1999 this was extended when Shell Hydrogen was established to pursue and develop business opportunities related to hydrogen and fuel cells on a global basis.
 

Shell International Renewables

One of the key drivers for developing renewable sources of energy is the desire to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in energy production by gradually replacing fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. Renewable sources emit much less carbon dioxide than conventional fuels per unit of energy produced.

Many believe they could become a low cost source of sustainable energy longer term. Shell Renewables is in the third year of a US$ 500 million five-year investment plan to make a profitable business from renewable resources. Success depends on finding enough commercially viable projects. This can be difficult because of the comparatively high cost of harnessing renewable energy sources. A labelling system to certify energy generated in this way could go some way to improve the viability of certain renewable energy projects. Shell Renewables has so far concentrated on forestry, making and marketing photovoltaic (PV) panels that produce electricity from the sun, and using wood for energy (biomass). In 1999 Renewables began investing in wind energy.

Forestry
Shell 's hardwood plantation forests cover 140,000 hectares (one hectare is about the area of two football pitches), mainly in South America. The wood is used for paper pulp and, increasingly, for solid wood products. Shell companies have invested in plantation forestry since the early 1980s and have gained considerable experience in all aspects of the business, including the environmental and social issues. For example, we worked with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to produce the Tree Plantation Review, a series of twelve reports on a range of social, economic and environmental issues that affect the development of forestry plantations. Shell International Renewables recently prepared revised guidelines for safe working practices and environmental management of tree plantations. For commercial reasons the business has stopped research into the use of genetic modification in tree improvement. All plantations will seek certification to the independent international standard of the Forest Stewardship Council. Carbon sequestration - the storing of carbon in trees - is under discussion in world forums and the commercial implications are being evaluated.

Biomass energy
Wood is a key source of renewable energy. It is converted into energy by combustion and is ideal for small-scale power stations in the developing world. Commercial biomass energy contributes more to world primary energy production than all other renewable sources, except for large-scale hydro-electricity. Shell's focus is to produce electricity, heat and solid fuels from sustainable sources of wood, such as plantation forests, and waste. In Norway,a plant that delivers heat to industry has been upgraded to make wood briquettes for sale. In Denmark wood pellets are sold to consumers. In Europe we want to use the higher efficiencies of combined heat and power plants that burn wood. In Uruguay, we have been researching the most effective way to grow wood fuel.

Wind energy
Wind energy is the fastest growing of all energy sources, at some 25% a year and Shell are keen to establish offshore wind farms. The first pilot project will be at our Harburg refinery in Germany and the electricity generated will be labelled. In the UK two of the largest offshore turbines in the world (2 megawatts each) will be installed shortly.

Solar energy
We expect that the cost of producing photovoltaic panels could drop at the rate of 6-8% per year over the next twenty years. This would mean that, ten years from now, the cost of solar electricity could be a third of what it is today. The experience of Shell companies with pilot systems in both sunny and cold climates shows how effective and useful the technology can be. However, fossil fuels are currently cheaper to use, so we are working hard to reduce the cost of making solar panels, and looking at new technologies to increase the efficiency of conversion from sunlight to electricity. Photovoltaic power has many desirable features and is growing rapidly. At present, it represents only a tiny proportion of the world's energy scene, around 0.01% of total supply. Encouraged by some governments in Europe and in Japan, consumers, businesses and local authorities in these markets are erecting solar panels that feed surplus current into the grid. The market is also growing for rural electrification systems and Shell has projects in South Africa, Bolivia, India, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Shell produces PV panels in The Netherlands and has recently opened a large factory in Germany. When fully on stream it will be able to make enough PV cells a year to satisfy almost 15% of the current total world market. Some commentators are frustrated at the slow growth in solar power and feel industry should be doing more to bring down costs and stimulate the market, which depends heavily on government subsidy. Without such subsidy solar power would be restricted to specialist applications and some rural electrification schemes. This is a classic `chicken and egg' situation. Without demand companies are reluctant to invest in large capacity that offers economies of scale. Customers are unwilling to buy until the price comes down. The impasse can be broken by a combination of technical innovation, government incentives, customer willingness to pay more and further investment in production

Shell Hydrogen
Growing environmental awareness and concerns about the sustainability of a hydrocarbon fuel economy have led to a worldwide revival of interest in fuel cells technology. Shell Hydrogen was established early in 1999 to pursue and develop business opportunities related to hydrogen and fuel cells on a global basis. Shell Hydrogen will provide energy solutions by bringing fuel cells to market promoting a hydrogen reliant fuel economy. Based in The Netherlands, Shell Hydrogen is the Royal Dutch/Shell Group's sixth global division. The regional bases are in Amsterdam, Houston, Hamburg and Tokyo.
 

A Brief History

In 1833 Marcus Samuel opened a small shop in London's East End, selling sea shells to Victorian natural history enthusiasts. It didn't take long before trading shells turned into a thriving general import-export business.

Marcus's son, Marcus Junior, came across oil exporting on a visit to Baku on the Caspian Sea coast. He saw a huge opportunity to export kerosene for lamps and cooking to Japan. Unfortunately, Standard Oil in America had a monopoly on the business, so Marcus realised he needed to find a way to undercut prices.

The Suez Canal (opened in1869) offered a solution, but a new tanker design was needed to meet safety standards. In 1892 Marcus commissioned the first special oil-tanker, and delivered 4,000 tonnes of Russian kerosene to Singapore and Bangkok.

Quite separately in 1890 the Dutch company N.V. Koninklijke Nederlandsche Maatschappij tot Explotatie van Petroleum-bronnen in Nederlandsch-Indië was formed to develop an oilfield in Pangkalan Brandan in Sumatra. In 1896 it built its own tanker fleet to compete with the British.
 

The formation of the Royal Dutch/Shell group

By 1903 it was obvious that the competing Dutch and British companies would do better by working together, and they merged into the Asiatic Petroleum Company. The partnership worked so well that four years later it was extended to cover operations worldwide, with the creation of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies. The partnership continues to this day. The two parent companies retain their separate businesses, and own the Group, with more than 1,700 active companies, in the proportion of 60% to Royal Dutch Petroleum, and 40% to the Shell Transport and Trading Company.
 

The early twentieth century

Rapid expansion followed the formation of the Group, with producing interests acquired in Romania (1906), Russia (1910), Egypt (1911), Venezuela (1913) and Trinidad (1914). Trading in the US started in 1912 after the acquisition of an American marketing company, The American Gasoline Company.

The early years of the century were exciting times for the oil industry. Mass production of cars started in 1909, opening up a vast new market. In 1912, the British Navy recommended fuel oil for their fleet and, although only small quantities were purchased from Shell, the precedent had been set.
 

The First World War and the inter-war years

The period around the First World War brought Shell mixed fortunes. Little progress could be made in Venezuela, the refinery at Curaçao in the Netherlands Antilles, planned in 1915, could not be completed until 1918, and property in Romania was destroyed in 1916. To compound the problems, properties in Russia were confiscated after the revolution.

On the positive side, 1915 saw the formation of the Shell Company in California, which united the rapidly expanding California business with the newly-constructed Martinez refinery and pipeline. In 1919, Alcock and Brown used Shell fuel for their historic non-stop flight across the Atlantic. This year also saw the establishment of Shell Aviation Services.

In 1922, the Shell Union Oil Corporation was formed to consolidate Shell interests in the US with those of the Union Oil Company of Delaware. The result was a rapid increase in the American business. Expansion continued in almost every part of the world including Iraq, Turkey and Borneo. In 1929, Shell entered the chemical field with the foundation of N.V. Mekog in the Netherlands, and the first liquid fuel rocket was launched in Germany. By 1938, Shell crude oil production stood at almost 580,000 barrels per day out of a world total of 5,720,000.
 

The Second World War

With the invasion of the Netherlands in the Second World War, the head offices of the Dutch companies were moved to Curaçao, with a staffing nucleus in London. All access to Romania was lost and properties in the Far East were destroyed.

Shell co-operated with the Allied Governments throughout the War to ensure that supplies of products, especially aviation and motor fuel, reached forces wherever they were. Shell's US operation assumed special importance in the production of vast quantities of high octane aviation fuel. Shell Chemicals aided the war effort by producing butadiene - used in the production of synthetic rubber. During the war, all Shell tankers came under Allied government jurisdiction. By the end of the war, Shell had lost 87 ships through enemy action.

After the war, major efforts were made to restore damaged Shell property and to provide extra production, transport and refining facilities to meet the new pressures on demand. All areas saw an increase in production, especially Venezuela, and Shell companies turned their attention to finding new supplies. An ambitious period of exploratory drilling followed in Tunisia, Algeria, Nigeria, Trinidad and off the shores of British Borneo.

New oil production came on-stream at the Schoonebeek field in the Netherlands and from Colombia and Canada. At the same time production from the Iraq Petroleum Company increased dramatically and in 1956, oil was discovered in the Sahara. To handle increased production from existing and new sources, large-scale refinery construction and expansion took place. By this stage, Shell had refinery operations in the Netherlands at Pernis (Europe's largest refinery), Stanlow and Shell Haven in the UK, Rouen in France, Cardon in Venezuela, Geelong in Australia and Bombay in India. By 1947, all 87 tankers that had been lost in the war had been replaced and ambitious programmes for building new tankers were implemented.
 

The late 1950s and the 1960s

The late 1950s and the 1960s saw the emergence of oil as a major energy resource, supplying a large proportion of the world's needs. Shell's output and sales increased dramatically year after year, to the point where Shell supplied almost one-seventh of the world's oil products. Shell's tanker fleet consisted of ever larger tankers. This period saw the appearance of the 'supertanker', which could carry in excess of 200,000 tonnes.

The 1950s were also important for the development of natural gas. In 1959, a joint Shell/Esso exploration company called N.V. Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) discovered one of the world's largest natural gas fields in Groningen in the Netherlands. Production began in 1963, and by the early 1970s, Groningen was already supplying half the natural gas consumed in Europe.

In 1966, Shell Expro discovered the Leman gas field in the southern North Sea, and this was followed by discoveries of natural gas in the UK, Dutch, Norwegian and Danish sectors. There was much more to come from the North Sea.
 

The 1970s, 1980s and the North Sea

The 1970s stand out as the decade of the North Sea, when major oil and gas discoveries were made in an extremely demanding operational and financial environment. In subsequent years, North Sea exploration became a major area of activity for Shell companies, with operations in Danish, Norwegian and UK waters. The investment made certainly paid off with Shell Expro discovering both the Auk and Brent fields in 1971, Cormorant and Dunlin in 1972, Tern in 1975 and Eider in 1976.

The recession of the seventies had a dramatic impact on the oil business. In addition, OPEC (the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) called for, and got a large rise in the price of crude oil. Whilst the oil industry adjusted to the changes, consumption of natural gas in Europe more than doubled, and by the end of the decade, gas was fulfilling almost 15% of Europe's energy requirement, of which Shell and its partners supplied about a half.

LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) was another good performer of the seventies, and Shell was among the pioneers of large-scale projects to liquefy and ship natural gas to distant markets. Although oil, natural gas and chemicals remained the major focus of Shell companies' activity during the seventies, important longer term interests in coal and metals were also developed.

In 1974, Shell Coal International was formed to manage Shell's coal interests. Four years earlier, Shell Petroleum NV had acquired the long established Billiton group of metals and minerals companies, which opened a new magnesium plant at Veendam in the Netherlands in 1981.

During the 1980s and into the 1990s, Shell companies installed advanced technology, launched a new range of high quality products and introduced a wide variety of customer-orientated services. For example, a deep-seated concern for safety and local/global environmental issues led to the initial venture into, and subsequent leading world-wide position in unleaded gasoline sales.

The early 1990s saw the return to lower oil prices. Shell adapted to change by returning to and focusing on its core businesses - principally oil, gas and chemicals. But by the mid 1990s, we had decided to look ahead to a new future.
 

Looking to the future

Fundamental changes are now underway in the Group. They are based on our commitment to sustainable development and the concept of social accountability. These changes involve the passions and feelings of the people who make the Group what it is. People from many backgrounds and cultures working with a common desire to do their business with integrity so they can hold their heads high in their communities and among families and friends.

The real challenge for Shell as we enter the next millennium is to deliver against this commitment. And with this challenge comes new opportunities. Current reserves of oil and gas are sufficient to last well into the 21st Century. But new, sustainable sources of energy must be developed before then to address environmental issues such as the greenhouse effect. Shell is well placed to take advantage of new opportunities in renewable energy, and is working hard to make these a viable alternative to fossil fuels. We believe that renewable energy could well become our major source of energy by 2050.
 

Fuente: The Royal Dutch/Shell Group
http://www.shell.com




Última actualització: 14 de juny de 2002