A Comprehensive History of Royal Dutch Shell: 1833-Present

This report presents a detailed historical overview of Royal Dutch Shell, tracing its evolution from a London-based business selling seashells in 1833 to a global energy giant. It covers key milestones such as the development of oil transportation, the merger with Royal Dutch, expansion into various markets, and its role during both World Wars. The report highlights significant innovations, including the development of new drilling techniques, the creation of Shell Chemicals, and the pioneering of gas-to-liquids technology. It also discusses the company's responses to challenges like fluctuating oil prices, environmental concerns, and the changing energy landscape, including its recent focus on renewable energy and its commitment to adapting to a lower-carbon energy system. The report concludes by emphasizing Shell's continued commitment to innovation and its role in addressing the world's increasing energy needs while reducing carbon emissions.

Background of Royal Dutch Shell.
In the Year 1833 to Year 1892 (From Seashells to the world of oil), Sir
Marcus Samuel decided to expand his London business in 1833.He sold all
the antiques and decided to sell oriental seashells to capitalize their
popularity in interior design industry at that time. The demand for shells
increases and made Sir Marcus Samuel to import it from the Far East. This
is to lay the foundations for an import-export business that ultimately
became one of the world’s leading energy companies. Sir Marcus Samuel
passed the business to his two sons, Marcus Junior and Samuel in 1870
before passing away as they began to expand it. In 1880, his sons became
interested in oil exporting business but still has shipping problem as oil
was carried in barrels that might leak and occupy space. In order to solve
the problem, they commissioned a fleet of steamers to carry the oil in bulk,
including the Murex in 1892 that became the first oil tanker to pass
through the Suez Canal.
For the Year 1893 to Year 1900 (The Shell Transport and Trading
Company is born), the Samuel brothers achieved a revolution in oil
transportation with the maiden voyage of the Murex. This is because bulk
transport substantially reduces the cost of oil by enormously increasing the
volume it could carry. On that time, the brothers’ main competitor was
Standard Oil, a famous company for its blue cans of kerosene that is when
empty could be used for anything such as roofing to bed pans. In order to
stand out, the Samuel brothers created the Shells brand and painted their
cans in bright red. The tactic worked and by 1896, their kerosene trade
earned more than all their other businesses combined. The Samuel

brothers renamed their company as the Shell Transport and Trading
Company and launched their first refinery at Balik Papan in Dutch Borneo
in 1897.The refinery later was destroyed when the USA declared war on
Japan in World War II.
In the Year 1908 to Year 1913 (Expansion and Innovation), the
merger with Royal Dutch signaled a period of rapid expansion as Shell (the
Group’s name shortened to Shell) had opened operations in Europe and in
many parts of Asia. There was also substantial exploration and production
in Russia, Romania, Venezuela, Mexico and the USA. Exciting opportunities
gave Shell to demonstrate the quality of its products in the fast-developing
market for petrol (gasoline) in the following years. It includes record-
breaking races, flights and journeys of exploration. For example, Prince
Borghese won the Peking to Paris motor rally using the Shell Spirit motor
oil, explores Ernest Shackleton and Captain Scott used Shell fuel in the
Antarctic and Bleriot’s inaugural cross-channel flight was made using Shell
Spirit.
In the Year 1914 – Year 1945 (Helping with the war effort), Shell was a
crucial partner to the Allies in both the World Wars. Shell became the main
fuel supplier of the British army in World War I and offered all of its ships
to the British Admiralty, including the Murex. The use of motor cars and
demand for petrol increased with a time of rapid expansion for oil
companies during the inter-war years. Therefore, Shell fueled the first
trans-Atlantic flight made by Alcock and Brown in 1919 and developed new
and improved drilling techniques. In 1929, founded Shell Chemicals to
advance the refinement of chemicals from oil. During World War II, Shell’s

London office dedicated to support the war effort while the company’s
refineries in USA produced aviation fuel to support the Allied air forces. All
the Shell tankers came under the Government control and many Shell staff
showed great bravery to keep going which includes the flying ace Douglas
Bader who worked in aviation department of the Asiatic Petroleum before
joining the RAF in 1939.War became a catalyst for inventing great
innovation with major advances in both the fuel and chemicals research
that includes the development of fuels for upcoming generations of the
aircraft such as the Spitfire.
For the Year 1946 to 1960 (Post-war expansion), the immediate post-
war years were some of the toughest years Shell had faced. During this
time, reconstruction was very expensive and the market for oil was
changing rapidly. Shell had launched new exploration programs against
this backdrop in Africa and South America and also built new refineries in
the UK. In order to transport more oil in bulk, Shell invested in larger and
higher-powered ships and supertankers. The first commercially viable
offshore well was drilled in the Gulf of Mexico in 1947 and in within 8
years, Shell had over 300 such wells. New discoveries were made in Borneo
and in the Niger Delta. In 1958, commercial production of oil began in
Nigeria. A number of scientific advances at this time boasted the demand
for oil which includes the invention of the jet engine. For example, architect
Sir Frank Whittle even worked for Shell for a number of years.
In 1960s, Shell started to strengthen its presence in the Middle East by
discovering oil in Yibal, Oman’s most prolific field. At the beginning of the
decade, the Groningen gas field was discovered in the Netherlands followed

by the discovery of gas in the North Sea. This time was a golden period of
research by Shell Chemicals where the company also took decision to
internationalize by placing local people in the top positions to make the
most of the homegrown talent in each country. In 1964, Shell was a partner
in the first sea transportation of liquified natural gas (LNG) from Algeria to
UK to open up a whole new market for the business. In 1967, the closure of
the Suez Canal for eight years had confirmed the wisdom of Shells’ decision
to invest in super tankers. The instability in the Middle East at the end of
1960s and the start of the 1970s had led a quadrupling of oil prices and
also the era of cheap energy had come to an end. In response, Shell began to
diversify into coal, nuclear power and metals. Shell began to look beyond
the traditional oil-producing countries such as North Sea and the USA for
supplies and exploration.
In the 1980s, Shell began to grow through acquisitions. The oil price
collapsed with the price of the barrel of oil falling in 1986 from $31 to $10
over the winter. Shell had a focus on developing projects more cheaply to
adjust the lower oil price. Intensive research that led to a huge
improvement in drilling techniques and the use of 3D seismic technology to
search for new sources of oil became widespread. These advances allow
Shell to develop offshore projects in much more challenging environments.
For example, the Troll Field in Norway, The Gulf of Mexico that has a new
well drilled at depth of 2.3 kilometers’. In 1990s, Shell saw biomass and
gas-to-liquids (GTL) technologies made giant leaps forward. In 1993, Shell
opened the world’s first commercial GTL plant in Bintulu, Malaysia as a
pioneering step which set the stage for an increasing role this fuel would
pay for the next decade. This era was not without the challenges however
Shell moved to a new growth area such as China and Russia to develop

projects of increasing complexity and in harsher environments that
increase the external criticism to be faced. To dispose off the Brent
platforms in North Sea storage platform as well as over Shells’ presence
and activities in Nigeria, environmental concerns were raised in relation to
Shells’ plans. Since that, Shell strived to work closely as possible with both
the local government and communities. Shell applies commitment and
policy on Health, Security, Safety, Environment and Social Performance
(HSSE & SP) to help protect the people, their communities and the
environment whenever Shell operates.
In 2005, the Royal Dutch Shell Group underwent a major structural
reorganization as the nearly century-old partnership between Royal Dutch
Petroleum and Shell Transport and Trading was dissolved where Shell
unified the corporate structure under a single new holding company, Royal
Dutch Shell plc. Shells’ innovation continued to pace into the 21st century.
Shell completed Pearl GTL in Qatar that became the world’s largest source
of GTL products in 2012. In 2016, the production started for the world’s
deepest oil and gas project at Shell’s Stones field. The world’s biggest
floating liquified natural gas facility, Prelude, sailed 5800 kilometers in
2017 from a shipyard in South Korea to its new home in Western Australia.
Shell continued to expand. In 2015, Shell announced that they would be
buying BG Group, a UK oil and gas production company. In February 2016,
the acquisitions were completed by expanding the company’s oil and gas
portfolio. Shell created its New Energies business in 2016 to focus on
exploring and developing commercial opportunities in renewable energy
such as wind and solar.

It has been an amazing journey over the 185 years of the Shells’ history.
Like mankind, Shell has also managed to adapt, time again and again
through a century of rapid change and periodic upheaval. Still Shell is
facing huge challenges in the upcoming centuries. Today’s society is facing
a challenge on an unprecedented scale on how to meet the increasing
energy needs while on reducing the carbon emissions. Shell being an active
player in and had embraced the transformation of the energy system. In
order to provide more and cleaner energy solutions, Shell sees for
commercial opportunity to participate in the global drive. Thriving as the
world’s transitions to a lower-carbon energy system is a key focus and also
Shells’ strategy, portfolio and strong financial framework that gave the
company a source of resilience in the upcoming years. One of the biggest
strategic questions faced by the company leaders is to understand the
definition of climate change for Shell. Therefore, Shell is determined to
continue to work closely with the society and its customers as it has done
nearly for the past 200 years.
Reference
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3. Referenceforbusiness.com. 2021. Shell Oil Company - Company
Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background
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<https://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/23/Shell-Oil-
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