Shell Reporting centre 2013

What do we do?

Building an energy future

Global energy demand is rising and so are consumer expectations – more people want energy from cleaner sources. At Shell we work with others to unlock new energy sources and squeeze more from what we have. We do this in responsible and innovative ways. In building a better energy future we all have a part to play. Shell is doing its part.

About Shell

Shell is an innovation-driven global group of energy and petrochemical companies. Our aim is to help meet the energy needs of society in ways that are economically, environmentally and socially responsible.

Read more about building a sustainable energy future

Our businesses

We find and extract crude oil, natural gas and bitumen, and transform them into products for sale to retail and commercial customers.

We provide gas for cooking, heating and electrical power; fuels and lubricants for transport; and chemical products for plastics, coatings, detergents and many other applications.

What is our strategy?

Our strategy seeks to reinforce our position as a leader in the oil and gas industry.

Our aim

We aim to grow our cash flow and deliver competitive returns through economic cycles, to finance a competitive dividend and fund investment for future growth. Safety and environmental and social responsibility are at the heart of our activities.

Our focus

We are using a clear set of strategic themes to guide decisions about investment and technology:

our upstream and downstream “engines”, mature businesses that generate the bulk of our cash flow.
our growth priorities: integrated gas and deep water, that play to our strengths in technology.
our opportunities for the longer term, including gas and oil in tight rock and shale, heavy oil, and in the Arctic, Iraq, Kazakhstan and Nigeria.

Read more about our strategy and outlook

Read more about our six strategic themes

What is happening
in our markets?

Rising demand for energy

30-40%

Growth in energy demand by 2035

LNG demand

is set for strong growth

Global primary energy demand is set to grow by between 30% and 40% by 2035, according to projections by the International Energy Agency. Large numbers of people in emerging economies are expected to benefit from higher incomes, and the world’s population will continue to expand, increasing total energy consumption.

When it comes to developing new energy supplies, integrated gas remains a core priority. In particular, global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is set for strong growth, as more governments around the world recognise the environmental advantages of gas-fired power. When used to replace coal, gas can sharply reduce emissions of pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulates, as well as CO2.

This can make a real difference, especially in Asia's rapidly expanding cities.

Read more about our market overview

See market data

How are we performing?

For Shell, 2013 proved to be a challenging year, in part due to a complex and difficult operating environment. This is what our CEO said about the 2013 results.

Key facts 2013

92,000 average number of people we employ

3.2 million our daily production in barrels of oil equivalent

$40 billion net cash from operating activities

13,932 million our proved reserves in barrels of oil equivalent

Read more about our performance indicators

Read more about our social and environmental performance

Who are our people?

Investing in our people

2013 employees by geographical area
Average numbers in thousand

2013 employees by geographical area, total 92,000

To help meet the world's rising energy needs, we have continued to invest in new supplies, in technology and in our people.

During 2013, Shell employed an average of 92,000 people in more than 70 countries. We continued to recruit externally to execute our strategy and growth plans for the future, hiring approximately 1,200 graduates and 3,200 experienced professionals.

The majority of each came from technical disciplines. More than 30% of our graduate recruits came from universities outside Europe and the Americas in response to increasing demand for skilled people in other regions.

We have a culture that embraces diversity and fosters inclusion. We actively monitor representation of women and local nationals in senior leadership positions.

Read more about our people

See employee data

How important is
sustainability to us?

Sustainability remains crucial to delivering our business strategy.

We integrate economic, social and environmental considerations into our business decisions from the earliest stage.

Implementing high standards in our approach to safety, the environment and community relations is critical to the success of our projects. It helps us to minimise delays and to manage the impact on the environment and our neighbours.

It also enables us to share wider benefits with communities where we operate, and support host government objectives for economic and social development.

This approach to sustainability seeks to reinforce our position as an industry leader while helping to meet global energy demand in a responsible way.

Read more about sustainability and our business strategy

Read more about our environment and society

How do we work with our
environmental partners?

Our partnerships and broader collaborations are of vital importance to our new projects and ongoing operations.

They can lead to improvements and help to build trust among our stakeholders in our projects and operations.

We work with several environmental organisations, including Earthwatch, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), The Nature Conservancy and Wetlands International, to find effective ways to address environmental challenges. These collaborations can be mutually beneficial by reducing our environmental impact and sharing knowledge with our partners.

We also work with organisations that focus on social challenges or community development. These collaborations can help to raise operational practices in our business and for the energy sector.

Read more about our environmental partners

How do we share benefits
with the communities near us?

We aim to create a positive presence in the communities where we operate.

Social performance process

Social performance process (pie chart)

This diagram shows the scope of our
activities.

Many of our operations have neighbouring communities. We aim to share benefits with these communities by helping to develop local economies, creating local jobs and developing skills as well as supporting communities with investment programmes.

Community engagement is fundamental to our approach to sustainability within Shell. We work together with our neighbours to minimise impacts and address concerns. It helps to build people’s trust and is the basis for operating responsibly.

Our community investment projects are an essential part of our work with our neighbours. We have three global strategic investment themes: enterprise development, road safety and access to energy. In 2013, we spent almost $159 million on community investment projects around the world.

Read more about our community engagement

How did our projects develop?

In 2013, we delivered several important new projects.

Downstream

In Downstream, for example, we took further steps to meet growing long-term demand for chemical and lubricant products in Asia’s growth markets. In China, we opened a grease manufacturing plant, while in Singapore we decided to expand our Jurong Island petrochemicals plant.

Read more about our projects in Downstream

Upstream

Our portfolio of deep-water oil and gas projects went from strength to strength. In Brazil, we bid successfully with partners for the Libra field, and started production at the second phase of Parque das Conchas (BC-10), which Shell operates and which is one of the world’s most challenging deep-water projects.

We had exploration success in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, with our Vicksburg exploratory well making a notable oil discovery. Also in the Gulf of Mexico, we worked towards the start of production in early 2014 at our new Mars B development.

With demand for LNG set for rapid growth, we moved to strengthen our leadership position within the industry. In January 2014, we completed the purchase from Repsol of new LNG positions in the Atlantic and Pacific regions, increasing Shell’s worldwide equity LNG capacity by around one-fifth.

There were also significant developments in Iraq, including the Majnoon field, one of the world’s largest oil fields. With our partners, we reached commercial production. We also began operations at the Basrah Gas Company, the biggest natural gas project in the country’s history, as well as the world’s largest flare-reduction project. It captures gas that is being flared from three oil fields in southern Iraq.

We will continue to invest in new projects. These will not only be the foundation of our future competitiveness, but also help to supply the world's growing energy needs.

Read more about our projects in Upstream

Read more about our key projects under construction

Reporting centre 2013

Annual Report
and form 20-F

Sustainability
Report

Investors’
Handbook

2013 in brief

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