When was shell founded

Against this backdrop Shell launched new exploration programmes in Africa and South America and built new refineries in the UK. The company also invested in larger and higher-powered ships — supertankers — in order to carry more oil in bulk.

In , the first commercially viable offshore well was drilled in the Gulf of Mexico and within 8 years the company had over such wells. New discoveries were also made in Borneo and the Niger Delta, and commercial production of oil in Nigeria began in A number of scientific advances at this time boosted the demand for oil, including the invention of the jet engine — its architect Sir Frank Whittle even worked for the company for a number of years.

The Groningen gas field in the Netherlands was also discovered at the start of the decade, followed by the discovery of gas in the North Sea. This time was also a golden period of research by Shell Chemicals and the company also took the decision to internationalise, placing local people in top positions to make the most of homegrown talent in each country.

At the same time, Shell was a partner in the first sea transportation of liquefied natural gas LNG in — from the Algeria to the UK — opening up a whole new market for the business. Instability in the Middle East at the end of the s and the start of the s led to a quadrupling of oil prices and meant that the era of cheap energy came to an end.

In response, Shell began to diversify, in particular into coal, nuclear power and metals. Shell also began to look beyond the traditional oil-producing countries for supplies and stepped up exploration in the North Sea and in the USA. In the s Shell began to grow through acquisitions. To adjust to the lower oil price Shell had to focus on developing projects more cheaply.

Intensive research led to huge improvements in drilling techniques and the use of 3D seismic technology to search for new oil sources became widespread. These advances enabled the company to develop offshore projects in much more challenging environments. The Troll field in Norway was one example, another was in the Gulf of Mexico where a new well was drilled at a depth of 2.

The s saw biomass and gas-to-liquids GTL technologies make giant leaps forward. This era was not without its challenges, however. While Shell moved into new growth areas such as China and Russia and developed projects of increasing complexity and in harsher environments, it also faced increased external criticism.

Shell has since strived to work as closely as possible with both local governments and communities. In , the Royal Dutch Shell Group underwent a major structural reorganisation as the nearly century-old partnership between Royal Dutch Petroleum and Shell Transport and Trading was dissolved and Shell unified its corporate structure under a single new holding company, Royal Dutch Shell plc.

The company has also continued to expand. And in , Shell created its New Energies business to focus on exploring and developing commercial opportunities in renewable energy, such as wind and solar.. Looking back over years of Shell history, it has been an amazing journey. Mankind has managed to adapt, time and time again, through a century of rapid change and periodic upheaval; and so has Shell. In , partly in response to the difficult economic conditions of the times, Shell-Mex merged its UK marketing operations with those of British Petroleum to create Shell-Mex and BP, a company that traded until the brands separated in After the invasion of the Netherlands by Germany in , the head office of the Dutch companies was moved to Curacao.

Around , Shell was the first company to purchase and use a computer in the Netherlands. In Shell acquired the mining company Billiton, which it subsequently sold in and now forms part of BHP Billiton. In November , following a period of turmoil caused by the revelation that Shell had been overstating its oil reserves, it was announced that the Shell Group would move to a single capital structure, creating a new parent company to be named Royal Dutch Shell plc, with its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange, a secondary listing on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, its headquarters and tax residency in The Hague, Netherlands and its registered office in London.

The unification was completed on 20 July and the original owners delisted their companies from the respective exchanges.

Apache Corp. The company has exploration and production in Bharat Petroleum Corp. BPCL is engaged in the business of refining of crude oil and marketing of petroleum products. Its principal activi In , another company in Sumatra had formed in a Dutch colony in the East Indies to produce petroleum.

This company was called the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company. These two companies merged to protect their businesses from the fierce competition from larger corporation, Standard Oil. The full merger happened in In , a different shell was used for the logo.

It changed from a mussel shell to a scallop shell and is now recognised as one of the biggest corporate logos in the world. After the war, Shell faced tough times. The demand for oil was increasing and they sought expansion. The architect of the jet engine worked for Shell and the company was part responsible for its invention. In , the oil giant formed a partnership with Ferrari to help develop lubricants and oils; this partnership is still strong today.

When rationing ended in , eight years after the war had ended; Shell was finally allowed to sell petrol under its own brand for the very first time.