These web pages give information and data taken from the Royal Dutch Shell plc Annual Report and Form 20-F 2012. They do not constitute the official version of the document filed with relevant authorities.
This Report serves as the Annual Report and Accounts in accordance with UK requirements and as the Annual Report on Form 20-F as filed with the SEC for the year ended December 31, 2012, for Royal Dutch Shell plc (the Company) and its subsidiaries (collectively known as Shell). It presents the About this Report of Shell, the Parent Company Financial Statements of Shell and the Financial Statements of the Royal Dutch Shell Dividend Access Trust. Cross references to Form 20-F are set out under About this Report of this Report.
In this Report “Shell” is sometimes used for convenience where references are made to the Company and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words “we”, “us” and “our” are also used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies. “Subsidiaries” and “Shell subsidiaries” as used in this Report refer to companies over which the Company, either directly or indirectly, has control through a majority of the voting rights or the right to exercise control or to obtain the majority of the benefits and be exposed to the majority of the risks. The Consolidated Financial Statements consolidate the financial statements of the Company and all subsidiaries. The companies in which Shell has significant influence but not control are referred to as “associates” and companies in which Shell has joint control are referred to as “jointly controlled entities”. Joint ventures are comprised of jointly controlled entities and jointly controlled assets. In this Report, jointly controlled entities and associates are also referred to as “equity-accounted investments”. The term “Shell interest” is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party interests.
Except as otherwise specified, the figures shown in the tables in this Report represent those in respect of subsidiaries only, without deduction of the non-controlling interest. However, the term “Shell share” is used for convenience to refer to the volumes of hydrocarbons that are produced, processed or sold through both subsidiaries and equity-accounted investments. All of a subsidiary’s share of production, processing or sales volumes are included in the Shell share, even if Shell owns less than 100% of the subsidiary. In the case of equity-accounted investments, however, Shell-share figures are limited only to Shell’s entitlement. In all cases, royalty payments in kind are deducted from the Shell share.
The financial statements contained in this Report have been prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 and with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the European Union. As applied to the financial statements, there are no material differences from IFRS as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB); therefore, the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB. IFRS as defined above includes IFRIC.
Except as otherwise noted, the figures shown in this Report are stated in US dollars. As used herein all references to “dollars” or “$” are to the US currency.
The Business Review and other sections of this Report contain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Shell to market risks and statements expressing management’s expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “could”, “estimate”, “expect”, “goals”, “intend”, “may”, “objectives”, “outlook”, “plan”, “probably”, “project”, “risks”, “scheduled”, “seek”, “should”, “target”, “will” and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this Report, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell’s products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) proved reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures as a result of climate changes; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with government entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in trading conditions. Also see “Risk factors” for additional risks and further discussion. All forward-looking statements contained in this Report are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this Report. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this Report.
This Report contains references to Shell’s website and to the Shell Sustainability Report. These references are for the readers’ convenience only. Shell is not incorporating by reference any information posted on www.shell.com or in the Shell Sustainability Report.
Documents on display
Documents concerning the Company, or its predecessors for reporting purposes, which are referred to in this Report have been filed with the SEC and may be examined and copied at the public reference facility maintained by the SEC at 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549, USA. For further information on the operation of the public reference room and the copy charges, call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. All of the SEC filings made electronically by Shell are available to the public on the SEC website at www.sec.gov (commission file number 001-32575). This Report is also available, free of charge, at www.shell.com/annualreport or at the offices of Shell in The Hague, the Netherlands and London, UK. Copies of this Report also may be obtained, free of charge, by mail.