Who we are

Shell worldwide

Royal Dutch Shell was formed in 1907, although our history dates back to the early 19th century, to a small shop in London where the Samuel family sold sea shells. 

Our headquarters are in The Hague, the Netherlands, and our Chief Executive Officer is Ben van Beurden. The parent company of the Shell group is Royal Dutch Shell plc, which is incorporated in England and Wales. 

Our strategy seeks to reinforce our position as a leader in the oil and gas industry, while helping to meet global energy demand in a responsible way. Safety and environmental and social responsibility are at the heart of our activities.  

Read about our history from 1833 to the present

Our purpose

We believe that oil and gas will remain a vital part of the global energy mix for many decades to come. Our role is to ensure that we extract and deliver these energy resources profitably and in environmentally and socially responsible ways.

We aim to work closely with our customers, our partners and policymakers to advance a more efficient and sustainable use of energy and natural resources.

Our people

Our people work together on some of the most innovative and exciting energy projects in the world. A diverse workforce and an inclusive work environment are vital to our success, leading to greater innovation and better solutions.

Find out about diversity and inclusion at Shell

Professional training, development programmes and ongoing support mean that our people are given every opportunity to reach their potential. And our leadership programmes enable talented individuals to become the energy industry leaders of tomorrow.

Learn more about careers with Shell

Shell at a glance in 2016

70+ countries we operate in

92,000 employees on average

57.1 million tonnes of equity LNG sold during the year

22 refineries we have interests in

3.7 million barrels of oil equivalent we produce every day

Download our projects brochure "Create"

Financial performance in 2016

Revenue: $233.6 billion

Income: $4.8 billion

Capital investment: $79.9 billion (including acquisition of BG Group plc)

Investment in research and development: $1.0 billion

Fast facts for sustainable development (2016)

$102 million spent on voluntary social investment worldwide. Of this:

• around $44 million spent on local programmes for community development, disaster relief, education, health and biodiversity; and
• around $58 million spent on our global themes of energy access, boosting local skills and enterprise, and STEM education.

We estimate that almost $96 million of our total spend in 2016 was in countries that are part of the United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index 2015, that is, those defined as having a gross domestic product of less than $15,000 a year per person. In 2016, Shell spent $45 billion on goods and services from 43,000 suppliers globally.