Royal Dutch/Shell 'Oil Reserves' Controversy

The history of Shell dates back to 1833 when Marcus Samuel (Samuel) opened a small shop in London, selling sea shells to Victorian natural history enthusiasts. Within a few years, it became a thriving import-export business. On a visit to the Caspian Sea coast, Samuel's son realized that there was huge potential in the export of lamp-oil and cooking oil from the Caspian to countries in the far-east. The company's first special oil tanker was commissioned in 1892 and 4,000 tonnes of Russian kerosene was delivered to Singapore and Bangkok. During the same period, the Royal Dutch Company had been formed in the Netherlands to explore oil fields in Asia. By 1896, Royal Dutch had developed its own tanker fleet in order to compete with British companies.

The two companies merged their interests on a 60:40 basis while keeping their identities separate. In the early part of the twentieth century the group expanded with acquisitions across Europe, Africa and America. The mass production of cars had opened up a vast new market for the oil industry and this fueled the acquisition spree for the group. During the First World War many of the Shell's operations in Europe and America were closed down. After the War, Shell concentrated on expansion of its operations in North America. Shell Aviation Services was established in 1919. The 1920s and 1930s saw Shell expanding its businesses into new regions and industry sectors. In 1929, Shell also made its first foray into the chemicals business...