Shell

Shell started in a very different way than you might expect. Back in 1833, Marcus Samuel Sr. opened a shop in London's East End selling seashells imported from Asia. His sons, Marcus Jr. and Samuel, took over in 1870 and expanded into importing tools and machinery. Everything changed in 1892 when Marcus Jr., while collecting seashells near the Caspian Sea, spotted an opportunity in the lamp oil trade. He commissioned the Murex, the world's first purpose-built oil tanker, named after a type of snail shell. The Shell Transport and Trading Company was officially formed in 1897, and the Samuels built their first refinery at Balik Papan in Dutch Borneo.

In 1907, Shell merged with Royal Dutch Petroleum to form the Royal Dutch Shell Group, combining Dutch technical expertise with British commercial reach. The merger created a company that could stand up to Standard Oil. Shell grew fast, supplying fuel to the Allies in both World Wars, and by 1920 it was the world's top oil producer. The scallop shell logo, introduced in the early 1900s, has evolved over time but remains one of the most recognized corporate symbols globally. Shell Spirit motor oil was even used by Prince Borghese's winning car in the 1907 Beijing-to-Paris rally, and Shell engine oil powered explorers Ernest Shackleton and Captain Scott in Antarctica.

Today, Shell operates across the entire energy chain from exploration and production to refining, trading, and retail. It has about 44,000 service stations in over 99 countries and employs roughly 85,000 people. The company is a core component of the FTSE 100 and AEX index. In 2016, Shell created its New Energies division to explore wind, solar, hydrogen, and electric vehicle charging. Recent major projects include the Pearl GTL plant in Qatar, the Stones deep-water field, and Prelude, the world's largest floating LNG facility. Shell has also faced environmental scrutiny as one of the top corporate greenhouse gas emitters. In 2022, the company simplified its share structure, moved its headquarters fully to the UK, and changed its name to Shell plc. [edit]