Shell opens commercial centre in China

Huibert Vigeveno, Executive Chairman of Shell Companies in China, said: “This is a strategic step forward to make Shanghai an important commercial and operational centre for Shell in China and bring us closer to our customers, partners as well as market opportunities.”

Shell is leading international oil companies in lubricants supply, marine products, bitumen, and chemicals business in the China market. China is the second largest lubricants market for Shell next only to the United States. Shell spends billions of U.S. dollars each year sourcing equipment and services from Chinese companies for its businesses and operations in China and around the world. Its growing procurement spend in China is a reflection of the progress the company is making in implementing one of its strategic priorities in the country, which is taking Chinese enterprises overseas – leveraging China capability and growing business together.

Mark Gainsborough, Executive Vice President of Global Commercial, said: “Our new commercial hub in Shanghai reinforces Shell’s already broad commercial footprint in China. It builds on our headquarters in Beijing, R&D centre in Shanghai and extensive sales and distributor network across more than 200 cities.”

The commercial centre will allow Shell to get the most from its supply chain assets as well as customer service capacity and position Shell to meet the anticipated growth in demand, better serve its customers in China and maintain its industry leading position.

Shell is a leading international energy company in China with all its core businesses operating in the country and making good progress. Shell celebrated its 120 years in China in 2014 and is working towards its second centenary success.

Speaking of Shell’s strategic plan for China, Mr. Vigeveno said: “Shell continues to invest substantially in China in both upstream and downstream. We work in partnership with leading Chinese energy companies in China to develop cleaner burning natural gas and provide quality oil products for Chinese customers. We also take these partnerships internationally to develop cleaner energy resources for China and bring them to Chinese customers. This ‘In China, For China’ strategy continues to guide us in our second century in the country.”

Media enquiries:

Steel Shen

Spokesperson, Shell Companies in China

Tel: (86-10) 6529 5484

Email：steel.shen@shell.com

Notes to Editors:

About Shell (Shanghai) Technology Limited

Shell opened its third global technology centre, dedicated to research and development into lubricants and oils, in Shanghai in 2014. The centre focuses on lubricant product development and application for China and the wider Asia region covering countries such as India, Indonesia, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

The research work in this 8,600 sq m, nine storey building covers a wide range of product applications including passenger car motor oils (PCMOs), motorcycle oils (MCOs), heavy duty engine oils (HDEOs), transmission fluids, as well as industrial and speciality oils and greases. It also covers oils for the shipping sector.

 

About Shell Shanghai University

Located at the commercial centre, the Shell Shanghai University is the first training centre in China dedicated to supporting downstream global commercial businesses. It will provide training for over 4,000 distributor staff from more than 300 Chinese lubricant distributors. It will also provide training support for other downstream commercial businesses in China and other Asian countries. Trainees will go through blended learning via both virtual study online and face-to-face learning. At this stage, all of the training offered in Shell Shanghai University is free.

 

About Shell Lubricants

The term “Shell Lubricants” collectively refers to Shell Group companies engaged in the lubricants business. Shell sells a wide variety of lubricants to meet customer needs across a range of applications. These include consumer motoring, heavy-duty transport, mining, power generation and general engineering. Shell’s portfolio of lubricant brands includes Pennzoil, Quaker State, Shell Helix, Shell Rotella, Shell Tellus and Shell Rimula. We are active across the full lubricant supply chain. We manufacture base oils in eight plants, blend base oils with additives to make lubricants in over 50 plants, distribute, market and sell lubricants in over 100 countries.

We also provide technical and business support to customers. We offer lubricant-related services in addition to our product range. These include: Shell LubeMatch –the market leading product on-line recommendation tool. Shell’s world-class technology works to deliver value to our customers. Innovation, product application and technical collaboration are at the heart of Shell lubricants. We have lubricants research centres in China, Germany, Japan (in a joint venture with Showa Shell), and the USA. We invest significantly in technology and work closely with our customers to develop innovative lubricants. We have a patent portfolio with 150 + patent series for lubricants, base oils and greases; more than 200 scientists and lubricants engineers dedicated to lubricants research and development.

In 2014, Shell launched premium motor oils made from natural gas, Pennzoil Platinum in North America and Shell Helix Ultra outside of North America. These products are now available in more than 100 markets. These products contain Shell PurePlus Technology: a patented process which converts natural gas into a clear base oil, the main component of motor oils. This base oil offers better lubrication compared to traditional base oils made from crude oil.

Customer benefits include lower maintenance costs, longer equipment life and reduced energy consumption. One of the ways we push the boundaries of lubricant technology is by working closely with top motor racing teams such as Scuderia Ferrari and BMW Motorsport. These technical partnerships enable us to expand our knowledge of lubrication science and transfer cutting-edge technology from the racetrack to our commercial products.

Cautionary note

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