Shell at a glance

Shell is a pioneer in New Zealand's oil and gas sector.  Since its first investment in exploration 100 years ago, the company has helped to lay the foundations for today's thriving oil and gas industry. Our business activities in New Zealand centre on oil and gas exploration and production.

Our values
Our core values (PDF, 4369 KB) - opens in new window of honesty, integrity and respect for people form the basis of the Shell General Business Principles.

Our business activities in New Zealand
In New Zealand Shell focuses on oil and gas exploration and production.  We have been involved in developing and operating the country's flagship gas and condensate (light oil) fields for more than 50 years.

Shell-owned ventures in the Taranaki region (Pohokura 48%, Māui 83.75%, Kapuni 50%) produce around half of New Zealand's total natural gas production and a significant proportion of the country's total condensate production.

Shell operating ventures provide more than 80% of the gas needed for the New Zealand market.

We have offices in Wellington and New Plymouth, employing more than 300 people.  We also provide contracts to New Zealand firms worth millions of dollars each year.

Shell in New Zealand by numbers

• Shell's first investment in New Zealand was in 1911, on the West Cost of the South Island.
• Shell owns 50% of operating company Shell Todd Oil Services (STOS).
• The Kapuni field, developed in the 1960s, was New Zealand's first commercial gas field and first allowed New Zealanders to tap into home grown hydrocarbon energy resources instead of having to import them.
• The Māui gas and condensate field, discovered in 1969, was one of the largest offshore gas fields in the world at that time.
• In 2009 the Māui and Kapuni fields marked 30 and 40 years of continuous production respectively.
• The Pohokura field, which began production in 2006, is New Zealand's largest gas and condensate field today, meeting around 40% of New Zealand's gas requirements.

Our contribution
Our long history in New Zealand means we have deep roots in the community, particularly around the fields we own and operate.  We are committed to strong local relationships and are involved in a range of educational, environmental and social activities that are closely aligned with our business and values. 

Our key partnerships include:

• Puke Ariki, Taranaki's award-winning museum and library, and its 60 Springs environmental education programme for school students.
• WOMAD, the annual world music festival which brings 250 international artists and around $8 million to Taranaki each year.
• Young Enterprise Scheme Taranaki, which encourages business skills and entrepreneurship among school students.
• Brancott Estate World of WearableArt^TM Awards Show (WOW), the annual celebration of innovation and creativity.
• New Zealand Wildlife Health Centre at Massey University, where Shell is a conservation partner. 

Shell is a global group of energy and petrochemical companies.  Our headquarters are in The Hague, the Netherlands, and our Chief Executive Officer is Peter Voser. The parent company of the Shell group is Royal Dutch Shell plc, which is incorporated in England and Wales.

Our strategy to generate profitable growth remains to drive forward with our investment programme, to deliver sustainable growth and provide competitive returns to shareholders, while helping to meet global energy demand in a responsible way.

In Upstream we focus on exploring for new oil and gas reserves and developing major projects where our technology and know-how adds value to the resource holders.

In Downstream our emphasis remains on sustained cash generation from our existing assets and selective investments in growth markets.

Read more about our strategy - opens in new window and major projects - opens in new window.

Our core values of honesty, integrity and respect for people form the basis of the Shell General Business Principles - opens in new window.

Shell by numbers (figures for 2011)

• +80 countries where we operate
• ~90,000 number of employees
• 48% of our production is natural gas
• 18.8 million tonnes of LNG sold during the year
• 3.2 million barrels of gas and oil we produce every day
• 43,000 Shell service stations worldwide
• 30+ refineries and chemical plants we run 

Our businesses

Upstream explores for and extracts crude oil and natural gas.

Downstream refines, supplies, trades and ships crude worldwide, manufactures and markets a range of products, and produces petrochemicals for industrial customers.

Projects & Technology manages delivery of Shell’s major projects and drives the research and innovation to create technology solutions.

Financial performance

View our latest quarterly results - opens in new window

2011

• Revenue: $470.2 billion
• Income: $31.2 billion
• Capital investment: $31.1 billion
• Investment in research and development: over $1.1 billion 

Fast facts for sustainable development

• $2.3 billion spent on developing alternative energies, carbon capture and storage, and on CO₂ R&D over the past five years.
• Almost $12 billion spent on goods and services in 2011 from companies in countries with lower incomes.
• ~$125 million spent on voluntary social investments in 2011.