Four Oaks Place is a complex of skyscrapers in Uptown Houston , Texas , United States . Managed by CBRE , the complex includes the 420 ft (128 m) 1330 Post Oak Boulevard (sometimes referred to as the Aon Building ), the 25-story 351 ft (107m) BHP Billiton Tower (1360 Post Oak Boulevard), Wells Fargo Tower (1300 Post Oak Boulevard), and the Interfin Building (1400 Post Oak Boulevard). The buildings were designed by Cesar Pelli & Associates Architects.
93-612: In 1993 BHP Petroleum, the US subsidiary of BHP , announced that its U.S. headquarters was moving from San Felipe Plaza to the Cigna Tower (1360 Post Oak Blvd.). Two hundred clerical and professional employees moved into the building. In the 1990s Weatherford Enterra (now Weatherford International ) had its corporate headquarters in 1360 Post Oak. By 2000 Weatherford moved to a new location in Houston. In 1999 Cushman & Wakefield ,
186-570: A Ferranti Mark 1* , was assembled and used at the Shell laboratory in Amsterdam. In 1970, Shell acquired the mining company Billiton , which it subsequently sold in 1994. In 1989, Shell redesigned a $ 3-billion natural gas platform in the North Sea , raising its height one to two meters, to accommodate an anticipated sea level rise due to global warming . In the 1990s, protesters criticised
279-475: A $ 9.6 billion deal. In fiscal year 2021-2022, BHP's annual profit amounted to more than $ 34 billion (an increase of 34%) of $ 65 billion (an increase of 14%). The coal division's profits reached almost $ 9 billion (a loss of $ 577 million in 2022), with the BHP's iron ore division making $ 21.7 billion (a decrease of $ 4.6 billion since 2022). Profit growth allowed the company to pay a record dividend of $ 7.6 billion for
372-632: A 50/50 joint venture to hold the Filo del Sol (FDS) and Josemaria projects. Until January 2022, BHP was a dual-listed company ; the Australian BHP Billiton Limited and the British BHP Billiton plc were separately listed with separate shareholder bodies, while conducting business as one operation with identical boards of directors and a single management structure. The headquarters of BHP Billiton Limited and
465-473: A 70-ton commemorative sculpture, The Muster Point , was installed on Industrial Drive, in the suburb of Mayfield, New South Wales . The long products side of the steel business was spun off to form OneSteel in 2000. In the 1950s, BHP began petroleum exploration, which became an increasing focus following oil and natural gas discoveries in Bass Strait in the 1960s. BHP began to diversify into
558-565: A Canadian company, was one of three bidders for the mine, tendering the lowest offer, and returned the mine to production in 2011. Ravensthorpe cost BHP US$ 3.6 billion in write-downs when it was shut in January 2009 after less than a year of production. In January 2010, following the BHP Billiton purchase of Athabasca Potash for US$ 320m, The Economist reported that, by 2020, BHP Billiton could produce approximately 15 per cent of
651-451: A Queensland fertiliser plant. The takeover achieved 90 per cent acceptance on 17 June 2005, and 100 per cent ownership was announced on 2 August 2005, achieved through compulsory acquisition of the remaining 10 per cent of the shares. On 8 November 2007, BHP Billiton announced it was seeking to purchase rival mining group Rio Tinto Group in an all-share deal. The initial offer of 3.4 shares of BHP Billiton stock for each share of Rio Tinto
744-482: A US$ 20 billion gas project that was to be constructed in the US state of Louisiana . A new CEO Ben van Beurden was appointed in January 2014, prior to the announcement that the corporation's overall performance in 2013 was 38 percent lower than in 2012—the value of Shell's shares fell by 3 percent as a result. Following the sale of the majority of its Australian assets in February 2014, the corporation plans to sell
837-725: A fine of $ 25 million to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in 2015 in connection with violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act related to its "hospitality program" at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing . BHP Billiton invited 176 government and state-owned-enterprise officials to attend the Games on an all-expenses-paid package. While BHP Billiton claimed to have compliance processes in place to avoid conflicts of interest,
930-556: A freeze on approving any major new expansion projects. Days after announcing the Olympic Dam pull-out, BHP Billiton announced that it was selling its Yeelirrie Uranium Project to Canadian Cameco for a fee of around $ 430 million. The sale was part of a broader move to step away from resource expansion in Australia. On 19 August 2014, BHP Billiton announced it would create an independent global metals and mining company based on
1023-591: A full-scale merger or takeover of either of the two companies. The Dutch company, Koninklijke Nederlandsche Petroleum Maatschappij at The Hague , was in charge of production and manufacture. The British Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company was based in London, to direct the transport and storage of the products. In 1912, Royal Dutch Shell purchased the Rothschilds ' Russian oil assets in a stock deal. The Group's production portfolio then consisted of 53 percent from
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#17327768434401116-414: A fund that would go towards humanitarian aid to Ukraine. On 8 March, Shell announced that it would stop buying Russian oil and gas and close its service stations in the country. In 2022, the major oil and gas companies, including Shell, reported sharp rises in interim revenues and profits. In fact, this rise in profit for Shell was so sharp, that 2022 was the company's best year, as Shell recorded double
1209-627: A further US$ 15 billion worth of assets in the period leading up to 2015, with deals announced in Australia, Brazil and Italy. Shell announced on 8 April 2015 it had agreed to buy BG Group for £47 billion (US$ 70 billion), subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. The acquisition was completed in February 2016, resulting in Shell surpassing Chevron Corporation and becoming the world's second largest non-state oil company. On 7 June 2016, Shell announced that it would build an ethane cracker plant near Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , after spending several years doing an environmental cleanup of
1302-464: A loss of $ 21.7 billion in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, despite reducing its operating expenses by 12%, or $ 4.5 billion, according to a Morningstar analysis cited by Barron's . In November 2021, Shell announced that it is planning to relocate their headquarters to London, abandon its dual share structure, and change its name from Royal Dutch Shell plc to Shell plc. The company's name change
1395-408: A major workers' strike and forced the company to declare force majeure on two shipments, which drove copper prices up by 4%. In April 2017 activist hedge fund manager Elliott Advisors proposed a plan for BHP Billiton to spin off its American petroleum assets and significantly restructure the business, including the scrapping of its dual Sydney-London listing, suggesting shares be offered only in
1488-881: A realty firm, moved its Houston office from the Wells Fargo Tower into the America Tower in the American General Center in Neartown . By 2008 and as of 2009 Cushman & Wakefield's Houston office is now in the 1330 Post Oak building. As of 2007 the owner of Four Oaks Place is considering plans to develop a fifth tower for the complex. As of Feb 22, 2014, the foundation was poured for Five Oaks Place. The foundation consists of 2.5 million pounds of reinforcing steel and over 8,000 cu. yards of concrete. The BHP Billiton Tower houses BHP 's Houston Marketing Office. The complex has two consulates in
1581-647: A record high of A$ 48.90 following speculation that Chinese mining firm Chinalco was considering purchasing a large stake. As global nickel prices fell, on 25 November 2008, Billiton announced that it would drop its A$ 66 billion takeover of rival Rio Tinto Group, stating that the "risks to shareholder value" would "increase" to "an unacceptable level" due to the 2007–2008 financial crisis . On 21 January 2009, BHP Billiton then announced that Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine in Western Australia would cease operations, ending shipments of ore from Ravensthorpe to
1674-675: A selection of its aluminium, coal, manganese, nickel, and silver assets. The newly formed entity, named South32 , was subsequently demerged with listings on the Australian Securities Exchange the JSE and the London Stock Exchange . In 2015, BHP Billiton spun off a number of its subsidiaries in South Africa and Southern Africa to form a new company known as South32. BHP Billiton agreed to pay
1767-498: A self-supporting unit without subsidies from other parts of the company. Traditionally, Shell was a heavily decentralised business worldwide (especially in the downstream) with companies in over 100 countries, each of which operated with a high degree of independence. The upstream tended to be far more centralised with much of the technical and financial direction coming from the central offices in The Hague . The upstream oil sector
1860-413: A single-unit partnership for business purposes. The terms of the merger gave 60 percent stock ownership of the new group to Royal Dutch, and 40 percent to Shell. Both became holding companies for Bataafsche Petroleum Maatschappij , containing the production and refining assets, and Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company, containing the transport and storage assets. National patriotic sensibilities would not permit
1953-469: A solely Australian Securities Exchange-listed company. As of 2022, BHP is the largest company in Australia, and the largest mining company in the world, both as measured by market capitalisation. In 2023, the company's position in the Forbes Global 2000 was 90th. Billiton Maatschappij was founded 29 September 1860, when its articles of association were approved by a meeting of shareholders in
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#17327768434402046-526: A steelworks at Newcastle was due to the technical limitations in recovering value from mining the lower-lying sulphide ores. The discovery of Iron Knob and Iron Monarch near the western shore of the Spencer Gulf in South Australia , combined with the refinement, by BHP metallurgists A. D. Carmichael and Leslie Bradford , of the froth flotation technique for separating zinc sulphides from
2139-548: A tin smelting and refining plant in Phuket , Thailand, named Thaisarco (for Thailand Smelting And Refining Company, Limited). In 1994, South Africa's Gencor acquired the mining division of Billiton excluding the downstream metal division. Billiton was divested from Gencor in 1997, and was amalgamated with Gold Fields in 1998. In 1997, Billiton plc became a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index and in 2001 Billiton plc merged with
2232-474: A type of snail shell ), to enter this market; by 1907 the company had a fleet. Although for several decades the company had a refinery at Shell Haven on the Thames, there is no evidence of this having provided the name. The Shell logo is one of the most familiar commercial symbols in the world. This logo is known as the " pecten " after the sea shell Pecten maximus (the giant scallop ), on which its design
2325-815: A variety of mining projects overseas. Those included the Ok Tedi copper mine in Papua New Guinea, where the company was successfully sued by the indigenous inhabitants because of the environmental degradation caused by mining operations. BHP had better success with the giant Escondida copper mine in Chile, of which it owns 57.5%, and at the Ekati Diamond Mine in northern Canada, which BHP contracted for in 1996, began mining in 1998, and sold its 80% stake in to Dominion Diamond Corporation in 2013 as production declined. In 2001, BHP merged with
2418-837: A year over 10 years to develop the field and triple production. On 14 July 2011, BHP Billiton announced that it would acquire Petrohawk Energy of the United States for approximately $ 12.1 billion in cash, considerably expanding its shale natural gas resources in an offer of $ US38.75 per share. On 22 August 2012, BHP Billiton announced that it was delaying its US$ 20 billion (£12 billion) Olympic Dam copper mine expansion project in South Australia to study less capital intensive options, deferring its dual harbour strategy at West Australian Iron Ore and slowing down its Potash growth option in Canada. The company simultaneously announced
2511-562: Is vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration , production , refining , transport , distribution and marketing , petrochemicals , power generation , and trading . Shell has operations in over 99 countries, produces around 3.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day and has around 44,000 service stations worldwide. As of 31 December 2019, Shell had total proved reserves of 11.1 billion barrels (1.76 × 10 m ) of oil equivalent. Shell USA , its principal subsidiary in
2604-490: Is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New York Stock Exchange . A core component of Big Oil , Shell is the second largest investor-owned oil and gas company in the world by revenue (after ExxonMobil ), and among the world's largest companies out of any industry. Measured by both its own emissions, and
2697-512: Is also commonly known as the "exploration and production" sector. Downstream operations, which now also includes the chemicals business, generate the majority of Shell's profits worldwide and is known for its global network of more than 40,000 petrol stations and its various oil refineries . The downstream business, which in some countries also included oil refining , generally included a retail petrol station network, lubricants manufacture and marketing, industrial fuel and lubricants sales, and
2790-482: Is based. The yellow and red colours used are thought to relate to the colours of the flag of Spain , as Shell built early service stations in California , previously a Spanish colony . The current revision of the logo was designed by Raymond Loewy in 1971. The slash was removed from the name "Royal Dutch/Shell" in 2005, concurrent with moves to merge the two legally separate companies (Royal Dutch and Shell) to
2883-532: Is linked to The "Shell" Transport and Trading Company. In 1833, the founder's father, Marcus Samuel Sr., founded an import business to sell seashells to London collectors. When collecting seashell specimens in the Caspian Sea area in 1892, the younger Samuel realised there was potential in exporting lamp oil from the region and commissioned the world's first purpose-built oil tanker , the Murex (Latin for
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2976-516: The Argentinian town of Magdalena, Buenos Aires , the Shell tanker Estrella pampeana collided with a German cargo ship , emptying its contents into the lake, polluting the environment, drinkable water, plants and animals. Over a decade after the spill, a referendum held in Magdalena determined the acceptance of a US$ 9.5 million compensatory payout from Shell. Shell denied responsibility for
3069-816: The East Indies , 29 percent from the Russian Empire , and 17 percent from Romania . During the First World War , Shell was the main supplier of fuel to the British Expeditionary Force . It was also the sole supplier of aviation fuel and supplied 80 percent of the British Army's TNT . It also volunteered all of its shipping to the British Admiralty . The German invasion of Romania in 1916 saw 17% of
3162-765: The Groot Keizershof hotel in The Hague , Netherlands. Two months later, the company acquired mineral rights to the Billiton ( Belitung ) and Bangka Islands in the Netherlands Indies archipelago off the eastern coast of Sumatra . Billiton's initial ventures included tin and lead smelting in the Netherlands, followed in the 1940s by bauxite mining in Indonesia and Suriname . In 1970, Shell acquired Billiton. Billiton opened
3255-593: The New York Stock Exchange on 18 November 2005. The shares of the company were issued at a 60/40 advantage for the shareholders of Royal Dutch in line with the original ownership of the Shell Group. During the 2009 Iraqi oil services contracts tender , a consortium led by Shell (45%) and which included Petronas (30%) was awarded a production contract for the "Majnoon field" in the south of Iraq, which contains an estimated 12.6 billion barrels (2.00 × 10 m ) of oil. The "West Qurna 1 field" production contract
3348-471: The Paradise Papers , a set of confidential electronic documents relating to offshore investment , revealed that Argentine Energy Minister Juan José Aranguren was revealed to have managed the offshore companies 'Shell Western Supply and Trading Limited' and 'Sol Antilles y Guianas Limited', both subsidiaries of Shell. One is the main bidder for the purchase of diesel oil by the government through
3441-492: The Russian invasion of Ukraine and in the midst of the growing boycott of Russian economy and related divestments , Shell bought a cargo of discounted Russian crude oil. The next day, following criticism from Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba , Shell defended the purchase as a short term necessity, but also announced that it intended to reduce such purchases, and it would put profits from any Russian oil it purchases into
3534-644: The Sultan of Muscat . In 1952, IPC offered financial support to raise an armed force that would assist the Sultan in occupying the interior region of Oman , an area that geologists believed to be rich in oil. This led to the 1954 outbreak of the Jebel Akhdar War in Oman that lasted for more than 5 years. Around 1952, Shell was the first company to purchase and use a computer in the Netherlands. The computer,
3627-468: The Billiton mining company to form BHP Billiton. In 2002, flat steel products were demerged to form the publicly traded company BHP Steel which, in 2003, became BlueScope . In March 2005, BHP Billiton announced a US$ 7.3 billion agreed bid for WMC Resources , owners of the Olympic Dam copper, gold and uranium mine in South Australia, nickel operations in Western Australia and Queensland, and
3720-584: The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (BHP) to form BHP Billiton. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (BHP), also known by the nickname "the Big Australian", was incorporated on 13 August 1885, operating the silver and lead mine at Broken Hill , in western New South Wales , Australia. The Broken Hill group floated on 10 August 1885. The first consignment of Broken Hill ore (48 tons, 5 cwt, 3grs)
3813-460: The SEC found that BHP Billiton had invited officials from at least four countries where BHP Billiton had interests in influencing the officials' decisions ( Congo , Guinea , Philippines and Burundi ). In August 2016, BHP Billiton recorded its worst annual loss in history, $ 6.4 billion. Towards the end of 2016 BHP Billiton indicated it would expand its petroleum business and make new investments in
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3906-593: The United Kingdom, while leaving its headquarters and tax residences in Australia where shares would trade as depository instruments. At the time of the correspondence Elliott held about 4.1 per cent of the issued shares in London-listed BHP Billiton plc, worth $ 3.81 billion. Australia's government warned it would block moves to shift BHP Billiton's stock listing from Australia to the United Kingdom. Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison said
3999-484: The United States, is one of its largest businesses. Shell holds 44% of Raízen , a publicly-listed joint venture with Cosan , which is the third-largest Brazil -based energy company. In addition to the main Shell brand, the company also owns the Jiffy Lube , Pennzoil and Quaker State brands. Shell is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index and had a market capitalisation of US$ 199 billion on 15 September 2022,
4092-655: The Wells Fargo Tower: those of Chile and Italy . In addition the Consulate-General of Germany in Houston resides in 1330 Post Oak. 29°45′14″N 95°27′40″W / 29.754°N 95.461°W / 29.754; -95.461 BHP BHP Group Limited , formerly known as BHP Billiton , is an Australian multinational mining and metals public company headquartered in Melbourne , Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company
4185-843: The Yabulu nickel plant in Queensland Australia. Yabulu refinery was subsequently sold to Queensland billionaire Clive Palmer , becoming the Palmer Nickel and Cobalt Refinery . Pinto Valley mine in the United States was also closed. Mine closures and general scaling back during the 2007–2008 financial crisis accounted for 6,000 employee lay offs. As the nickel market became saturated by both spiraling economics and cheaper extraction methods; on 9 December 2009, BHP Billiton sold its Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine , which had cost A$ 2.4 billion to build, to Vancouver -based First Quantum Minerals for US$ 340 million. First Quantum,
4278-484: The accompanying gangue and subsequent conversion (Carmichael–Bradford process) to oxides of the metal, allowed BHP to economically extract valuable metals from the heaps of tailings up to 40 feet (12 m) high at the mine site. In 1942, the Imperial Japanese Navy targeted the BHP steelworks during the largely unsuccessful shelling of Newcastle . Newcastle operations were closed in 1999, and
4371-454: The appointment of Jorma Ollila , chairman and CEO of Nokia at the time, to succeed Aad Jacobs as the company's non-executive chairman on 1 June 2006. Ollila is the first Shell chairman to be neither Dutch nor British. Other non-executive directors include Maarten van den Bergh , Wim Kok , Nina Henderson, Lord Kerr , Adelbert van Roxe, and Christine Morin-Postel. Since 3 January 2014, Ben van Beurden has been CEO of Shell. His predecessor
4464-640: The company's environmental record, particularly the possible pollution caused by the proposed disposal of the Brent Spar platform into the North Sea. Despite support from the UK government, Shell reversed the decision under public pressure but maintained that sinking the platform would have been environmentally better. Shell subsequently published an unequivocal commitment to sustainable development , supported by executive speeches reinforcing this commitment. Shell
4557-493: The company. Anderson successfully completed the four-year project with a merger between BHP and London-based Billiton. In July 2002, Brian Gilbertson of Billiton was appointed CEO, but resigned after just six months, citing irreconcilable differences with the board. Upon Gilbertson's departure in early 2003, Chip Goodyear was appointed the new CEO, increasing sales by 47 per cent and profits by 78 per cent during his tenure. Goodyear retired on 30 September 2007. Marius Kloppers
4650-406: The core competencies on which the company was founded. Similar competencies were required for natural gas, which has become one of the most important businesses in which Shell is involved, and which contributes a significant proportion of the company's profits. While the vertically integrated business model provided significant economies of scale and barriers to entry , each business now seeks to be
4743-446: The cost of a planned $ 28bn capital spending programme. Shell invited buyers to submit indicative bids, due by 22 March, with a plan to raise $ 2–3bn from the sale. In June 2010, Shell agreed to acquire all the business of East Resources for a cash consideration of $ 4.7 billion. The transaction included East Resources' tight gas fields. Over the course of 2013, the corporation began the sale of its US shale gas assets and canceled
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#17327768434404836-416: The departure of the chairman Philip Watts . A lawsuit resulted in the payment of $ 450 million to non-American shareholders in 2007. As a result of the scandal, the corporate structure was simplified. Two classes of ordinary shares, A (code RDSA) and B (code RDSB), identical but for the tax treatment of dividends, were issued for the company. In November 2004, following a period of turmoil caused by
4929-461: The dominating W. R. Wilson had had to lend William Jamieson , General Manager, a new suit so he could take the first prospectus, printed at Silverton near Broken Hill on 20 June 1885, to Adelaide to start the float process. The geographic Broken Hill, for which the town was named, was discovered and named by Captain Charles Sturt , stirring great interest among prospectors. Nothing of note
5022-561: The emissions of all the fossil fuels it sells, Shell was the ninth-largest corporate producer of greenhouse gas emissions in the period 1988–2015. Shell was formed in April 1907 through the merger of Royal Dutch Petroleum Company of the Netherlands and The "Shell" Transport and Trading Company of the United Kingdom. The combined company rapidly became the leading competitor of the American Standard Oil and by 1920 Shell
5115-543: The ensuing months of fruitless search, three of the original seven (now remembered as the Syndicate of Seven ) sold their shares, so that, on the eve of the company's great success, there were nine shareholders, including Rasp, McCulloch, Philip Charly (aka Charley), David James, James Poole (five of the original syndicate of seven, which had previously included George Urquhart and G.A.M. Lind), Bowes Kelly, W. R. Wilson, and William Jamieson (who had bought shares from several of
5208-594: The firm operated as a dual-listed company , whereby the British and Dutch companies maintained their legal existence and separate listings but operated as a single-unit partnership. From 2005 to 2022, the company had its headquarters in The Hague, its registered office in London and had two types of shares (A and B). In January 2022, the firm merged the A and B shares, moved its headquarters to London, and changed its legal name to Shell plc . The Royal Dutch Shell Group
5301-562: The founders). John Darling, Jr. became a director of the company in 1892 and was chairman of directors from 1907 to 1914. Strongly encouraged by the New South Wales Minister for Public Works, Arthur Hill Griffith , in 1915, the company ventured into steel manufacturing, with its operations based primarily at the Newcastle Steelworks . The decision to move from mining ore at Broken Hill to opening
5394-508: The global headquarters of the combined group were located in Melbourne , Australia. The headquarters of BHP Billiton plc were located in London, England. Its main office locations were in Australia, the U.S., Canada, the UK, Chile, Malaysia, and Singapore. The company's shares traded on the following exchanges: BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton plc were renamed BHP Group Limited and BHP Group plc, respectively, on 19 November 2018. In 1998, BHP hired American Paul Anderson to restructure
5487-511: The global investment community. On 22 February 2011, BHP Billiton announced that it had paid $ 4.75 billion in cash to Chesapeake Energy for its Fayetteville shale assets, which include 487,000 acres (1,970 km ) of mineral rights leases and 420 miles (680 km) of pipeline located in north central Arkansas . The wells on the mineral leases are currently producing about 415 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. BHP Billiton planned to spend $ 800 million to $ 1 billion
5580-632: The group's worldwide production destroyed. In 1919, Shell took control of the Mexican Eagle Petroleum Company and in 1921 formed Shell-Mex Limited, which marketed products under the "Shell" and "Eagle" brands in the United Kingdom. During the Genoa Conference of 1922 Royal Dutch Shell was in negotiations for a monopoly over Soviet oilfields in Baku and Grosny , although the leak of a draft treaty led to breakdown of
5673-577: The half-year ending December 31. BHP made an offer to acquire Anglo American for £31 billion in April 2024; however, the offer was rejected by the Anglo American as "highly unattractive". A revised offer was also rejected in May 2024. In July 2024, BHP and Lundin Mining agreed to jointly acquire 100% of Filo Corp. through a Canadian plan of arrangement. BHP and Lundin Mining also agreed to form
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#17327768434405766-435: The largest of any company listed on the LSE and the 44th-largest of any company in the world. By 2021 revenues, Shell is the second-largest investor-owned oil company in the world (after ExxonMobil ), the largest company headquartered in the United Kingdom, the second-largest company headquartered in Europe (after Volkswagen ), and the 15th largest company in the world. Until its unification in 2005 as Royal Dutch Shell plc ,
5859-457: The legal name) was a British company, founded in 1897 by Marcus Samuel, 1st Viscount Bearsted , and his brother Samuel Samuel . Their father had owned an antique company in Houndsditch , London, which expanded in 1833 to import and sell seashells, after which the company "Shell" took its name. For various reasons, the new firm operated as a dual-listed company , whereby the merging companies maintained their legal existence but operated as
5952-450: The move would be contrary to the country's national interest and would breach government orders mandating a listing on the Australian Securities Exchange. BHP Billiton dismissed the plan saying the costs and risks of Elliott's proposal outweighed any potential benefits. In May 2017, with much of the former Billiton assets having been disposed of, BHP Billiton began to rebrand itself as BHP, at first in Australia and then globally. It replaced
6045-409: The profits from 2021, and the highest profit in its entire history. In November 2024, Shell won a case in the Hague court of appeal against Friends of the Earth which would have required Shell to cut its carbon emissions by 45%, in line with the Paris climate accords . The key trends of Shell are (as at the financial year ending 31 December): On 4 August 2005, the board of directors announced
6138-426: The proposed plant's site. In January 2017, Shell agreed to sell £2.46bn worth of North Sea assets to oil exploration firm Chrysaor. In 2017, Shell sold its oil sands assets to Canadian Natural Resources in exchange of approximately 8.8% stake in that company. In May 2017, it was reported that Shell plans to sell its shares in Canadian Natural Resources fully exiting the oil sands business. On 5 November 2017,
6231-405: 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 LSE, a secondary listing on Euronext Amsterdam , its headquarters and tax residency in The Hague , Netherlands and its registered office in London. The company
6324-493: The sale of its Fayetteville Onshore US gas assets to a wholly owned subsidiary of Merit Energy Company. In August 2021, BHP announced plans to exit the oil and gas industry by merging its hydrocarbon business with Woodside Energy , Australia's largest independent gas producer. It also announced its intention to delist from the London Stock Exchange and consolidate on the Australian Securities Exchange . This occurred in January 2022. In April 2023, BHP took over Oz Minerals in
6417-426: The same period the previous year. On 30 September 2020, the company said that it would cut up to 9,000 jobs as a result of the economic effects caused by the pandemic and announced a "broad restructuring". In December 2020, Shell forecast another write-down of $ 3.5-4.5 billion for the fourth quarter due to lower oil prices, following $ 16.8 billion of impairment in the second quarter. In February 2021, Shell announced
6510-450: The sector. In February 2017, BHP Billiton announced a $ 2.2 billion investment in the new BP platform in the Gulf of Mexico . During the same year, as part of their plan to increase productivity at the Escondida mine in Chile, which is the world's biggest copper mine, BHP Billiton attempted to get workers to accept a 4-year pay freeze, a 66% reduction in the end-of-conflict bonus offering, and increased shift flexibility. This resulted in
6603-538: The single legal entity which exists today. On 15 November 2021, Royal Dutch Shell plc announced plans to change its name to Shell plc. Shell is organised into four major business groupings: Shell's primary business is the management of a vertically integrated oil company. The development of technical and commercial expertise in all stages of this vertical integration, from the initial search for oil (exploration) through its harvesting (production), transportation, refining and finally trading and marketing established
6696-471: The slogan "The Big Australian" with "Think Big", with an advertising campaign rolling out in mid May 2017. Work on the change began in late 2015 according to BHP's chief external affairs officer. In August 2017, BHP announced that it would sell off its US shale oil and gas business. In July 2018, the company agreed to sell its shale assets to BP for $ 10.5 billion. BHP indicated its intention to return funds to investors. On 29 September 2018, BHP completed
6789-426: The spill, but an Argentine court ruled in 2002 that the corporation was responsible. In 2002, Shell acquired Pennzoil-Quaker State through its American division for $ 22 USD per share, or about $ 1.8 billion USD. Through its acquisition of Pennzoil, Shell became a descendant of Standard Oil . With its acquisition, Shell inherited multiple auto part brands including Jiffy Lube , Rain-X , and Fix-a-Flat . The company
6882-585: The state owned CAMMESA (Compañía Administradora del Mercado Mayorista Eléctrico). On 30 April 2020, Shell announced that it would cut its dividend for the first time since the Second World War , due to the oil price collapse following the reduction in oil demand during the COVID-19 pandemic . Shell stated that their net income adjusted for the cost of supply dropped to US$ 2.9 billion in three months to 31 March. This compared with US$ 5.3 billion in
6975-588: The talks. In 1929, Shell Chemicals was founded. By the end of the 1920s, Shell was the world's leading oil company, producing 11 percent of the world's crude oil supply and owning 10 percent of its tanker tonnage. During the Spanish Civil War the company sold oil to the Nationalist side of Francisco Franco . Located in the north bank of the River Thames in London, Shell Mex House
7068-803: The value of World War II military production contracts. The 1930s saw Shell's Mexican assets seized by the local government. After the invasion of the Netherlands by Nazi Germany in 1940, the head office of the Dutch companies was moved to Curaçao . In 1945, Shell's Danish headquarters in Copenhagen , at the time being used by the Gestapo , was bombed by Royal Air Force De Havilland Mosquitoes in Operation Carthage . In 1937, Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), 23.75 percent owned by Royal Dutch Shell plc, signed an oil concession agreement with
7161-466: The world demand for potash . In August 2010, BHP Billiton made a hostile takeover bid worth US$ 40 billion for PotashCorp . The bid came after BHP's first bid, made on 17 August, was rejected as being undervalued. This acquisition marked a major strategic move by BHP outside hard commodities and commenced the diversification of its business away from resources with high exposure to carbon price risk, like coal, petroleum and iron ore. The takeover bid
7254-512: Was Peter Voser who became CEO of Shell on 1 July 2009. Following a career at the corporation, in locations such as Australia and Africa, Ann Pickard was appointed as the executive vice president of the Arctic at Royal Dutch Shell, a role that was publicized in an interview with McKinsey & Company in June 2014. In January 2023, Wael Sawan succeeded Ben van Beurden as CEO. The name Shell
7347-534: Was Goodyear's successor. Following Kloppers' tenure, Andrew Mackenzie , chief executive of Non-Ferrous, assumed the role of CEO in 2013. Australia mining head Mike Henry succeeded Mackenzie on 1 January 2020. BHP has mining operations in Australia, North America, and South America. The company has five primary operational units: Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London , England. Shell
7440-608: Was already incorporated in 2002 as Forthdeal Limited , a shelf corporation incorporated by Swift Incorporations Limited and Instant Companies Limited, both based in Bristol. The unification was completed on 20 July 2005 and the original owners delisted their companies from the respective exchanges. On 20 July 2005, the Shell Transport & Trading Company plc was delisted from the LSE, whereas, Royal Dutch Petroleum Company from
7533-467: Was awarded to a consortium led by ExxonMobil (60%) and included Shell (15%). In February 2010, Shell and Cosan formed a 50:50 joint-venture, Raízen , comprising all of Cosan's Brazilian ethanol, energy generation, fuel distribution and sugar activities, and all of Shell's Brazilian retail fuel and aviation distribution businesses. In March 2010, Shell announced the sale of some of its assets, including its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) business, to meet
7626-490: Was completed in 1931, and was the head office for Shell's marketing activity worldwide. In 1932, partly in response to the difficult economic conditions of the Great Depression , Shell-Mex merged its UK marketing operations with those of BP (British Petroleum) to create Shell-Mex & BP , a company that traded until the brands separated in 1975. Royal Dutch Company ranked 79th among United States corporations in
7719-850: Was created in April 1907 through the amalgamation of two rival companies: the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company ( Dutch : Koninklijke Nederlandse Petroleum Maatschappij ) of the Netherlands and the Shell Transport and Trading Company Limited of the United Kingdom . It was a move largely driven by the need to compete globally with Standard Oil . The Royal Dutch Petroleum Company was a Dutch company founded in 1890 to develop an oilfield in Pangkalan Brandan , North Sumatra , and initially led by August Kessler , Hugo Loudon, and Henri Deterding . The "Shell" Transport and Trading Company (the quotation marks were part of
7812-500: Was discovered until 5 November 1883, when Charles Rasp , boundary rider for the surrounding Mount Gipps Station , pegged out a 40-acre claim with contractors David James and James Poole. Together with a half-dozen backers , including station manager George McCulloch (a young cousin of Victorian Premier Sir James McCulloch ), Rasp formed the Broken Hill Company staking out the entire Hill. As costs mounted during
7905-767: Was formed in 2001 through the merger of the Australian Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (BHP) and the Anglo–Dutch Billiton plc trading on both the Australian and London Stock Exchanges as a dual-listed company . In 2015, some BHP Billiton assets were demerged and rebranded as South32 , while a scaled-down BHP Billiton became BHP. In 2018, BHP Billiton Limited and BHP Billiton plc became BHP Group Limited and BHP Group plc, respectively. In January 2022, BHP relinquished its London Stock Exchange listing, becoming
7998-507: Was founded on 16 July 1885 in the mining town of Silverton, New South Wales . As of 2024, BHP was the world’s largest mining company by market capitalization and the world’s third-largest by revenue . Total iron ore revenue for the company increased by US$ 3.1 billion to US$ 28.0 billion in Fiscal Year 2024, accounting for 50.2% of the company’s revenue, while copper and coal contributed 33.4% and 13.8%, respectively. BHP Billiton
8091-495: Was notably late in its acquisition as seen by journalists, with Shell seen as streamlining its assets around the same time of other major mergers and acquisitions in the industry, such as BP 's purchase of Amoco and the merger of Exxon and Mobil . In 2004, Shell overstated its oil reserves, resulting in loss of confidence in the group, a £17 million fine by the Financial Services Authority and
8184-552: Was opposed by the Government of Saskatchewan under Premier Brad Wall . On 3 November, Canadian Industry Minister Tony Clement announced the preliminary rejection of the deal under the Investment Canada Act , giving BHP Billiton 30 days to refine their deal before a final decision was made; BHP withdrew its offer on 14 November 2010. Canada's decision to block the deal was generally viewed as surprising by
8277-830: Was registered in the Companies House on 21 January 2022. In December 2021, Shell pulled out of the Cambo oil field , off the Shetland Islands, claiming that "the economic case for investment in this project is not strong enough at this time, as well as having the potential for delays". The proposed oilfield had been the subject of intense campaigning by environmentalists in the run-up to the COP26 UN climate summit in Glasgow in November 2021. On 4 March 2022, during
8370-433: Was rejected by the board of Rio Tinto for "significantly undervaluing" the company. It was unknown at the time whether BHP Billiton would attempt to purchase Rio Tinto through some form of hostile takeover . A formal hostile bid of 3.4 BHP Billiton shares for each Rio Tinto share was announced on 6 February 2008; The bid was withdrawn 25 November 2008 due to global recession . On 14 May 2008, BHP Billiton shares rose to
8463-603: Was smelted at the Intercolonial Smelting and Refining Company's works at Spotswood, Victoria , a suburb of Melbourne. Historian Christopher Jay notes: The resulting 35,605 ounces of silver raised a lot of interest when exhibited at the City of Melbourne Bank in Collins Street . Some sceptics asserted the promoters were merely using silver from somewhere else, to ramp up the shares.... Another shareholder,
8556-499: Was subsequently criticised by the European Commission and five European Union members after deciding to leave part of its decommissioned oil rigs standing in the North Sea. Shell argued that removing them would be too costly and risky. Germany said that the estimated 11,000 tonnes of raw oil and toxins remaining in the rigs would eventually seep into the sea, and called it a 'ticking timebomb'. On 15 January 1999, off
8649-587: Was the largest producer of oil in the world. Shell first entered the chemicals industry in 1929. Shell was one of the " Seven Sisters " which dominated the global petroleum industry from the mid-1940s to the mid-1970s. In 1964, Shell was a partner in the world's first commercial sea transportation of liquefied natural gas (LNG). In 1970, Shell acquired the mining company Billiton , which it subsequently sold in 1994 and now forms part of BHP . In recent decades gas has become an increasingly important part of Shell's business and Shell acquired BG Group in 2016. Shell
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