Shell Launches Breakthrough Engine Oil for Shipping Industry

LONDON, July 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Shell (NYSE:RDS.A)(NYSE:RDS.B) today launched Shell Alexia S4, its most innovative marine engine oil in a generation. Unlike conventional cylinder oils, it can be used across a wide range of vessel and engine types, fuel specifications, loads and climates - from the Antarctic to the Amazon to the Suez Canal. This means vessels no longer need to carry multiple oils. Shell Alexia S4 also works effectively at any vessel speed, including slow and ultra slow - especially important to modern ships that have to vary speeds to reduce fuel consumption and meet strict timetables.

"Shell Marine Products has a proud heritage of working with our customers for over 100 years. We have developed a smarter engine oil to meet the evolving needs of the modern shipping industry," said Surinderdeep Singh, General Manager of Shell Marine Products. "Shell Alexia S4 offers operational simplicity, cost reduction potential and proven performance under tough conditions."

The new formulation better protects engines, which can reduce maintenance and oil use, and reduces the need to shut down engines for repair. All this can deliver simpler operations and lower costs to today's vessel operators, facing a competitive market and increasingly tougher emissions regulations.

Shell scientists developed Shell Alexia S4 based on their unique 20 year understanding of oil stress- the factors which degrade lubricants and stop them working. The new formulation, with an innovative combination of additives, went through rigorous testing at Shell's Marine and Power Innovation Centre in Hamburg, Germany. Tests in laboratory engines under simulated slow steaming conditions demonstrated that Shell Alexia S4 provided up to a 20% improvement in overall engine wear, compared to Shell's existing cylinder oil and out-performed all other oils tested. It was also extensively tested during more than 25, 000 hours of field trials, by customers and the original engine manufacturers MAN and Wartsila. Here it proved its ability to protect engines running on distillates* and residual fuels containing 0.2% to 3.75% sulphur content in a range of locations and climates, including the Antarctic, the Middle East and South America. With technical support and a switch to Alexia S4, one specific trial showed a 33% reduction in oil feedrate. Alexia S4 will be available to customers from 1 August 2012.

*For up to 1000 hours in certain engines

For an animation explaining the benefits of Shell Alexia S4 please go to: http://www.shell.com/home/content/marine_products/alexia/animation/

For further information on Shell Alexia S4 please go to:

http://www.shell.com/home/content/marine_products/alexia/about/

For images please go to:

http://shell.qbank.se/v2.7/mb.php?h=4802a93a7c470bee8a89002f88b41b69

B-roll footage is available on request.

Notes to Editors

Shell Marine Products

Shell provides lubricants for the marine industry through its Shell Marine Products business. It serves more than 15,000 customer vessels, ranging from large ocean-going tankers to small fishing boats at around 500 ports in some 47 countries. The advice and technical services we provide help our customers achieve maximum value from using our lubricant products across all types of machinery and equipment on a ship. http://www.shell.com/home/content/marine_products/

Royal Dutch Shell plc

Royal Dutch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam and New York stock exchanges. Shell companies have operations in more than 80 countries and territories with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of liquefied natural gas and gas to liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects. For further information, visit http://www.shell.com.

Cautionary note

The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate entities. In this release "Shell", "Shell group" and "Royal Dutch Shell" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies. "Subsidiaries", "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as used in this release refer to companies in which Royal Dutch Shell either directly or indirectly has control, by having either a majority of the voting rights or the right to exercise a controlling influence. The companies in which Shell has significant influence but not control are referred to as "associated companies" or "associates" and companies in which Shell has joint control are referred to as "jointly controlled entities". In this release, associates and jointly controlled entities are also referred to as "equity-accounted investments". The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect (for example, through our 23% shareholding in Woodside Petroleum Ltd.) ownership interest held by Shell in a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party interest.  

This release contains forward-looking statements concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "plan", "objectives", "outlook", "probably", "project", "will", "seek", "target", "risks", "goals", "should" and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including potential litigation and regulatory measures as a result of climate changes; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in trading conditions. All forward-looking statements contained in this release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell's 20-F for the year ended 31 December, 2011 (available at http://www.shell.com/investor and http://www.sec.gov - opens in new window). These factors also should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this release, 30 July 2012. Neither Royal Dutch Shell nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this release. There can be no assurance that dividend payments will match or exceed those set out in this release in the future, or that they will be made at all.

We use certain terms in this release, such as resources, that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in filings with the SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website http://www.sec.gov - opens in new window. You can also obtain these forms from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330

ENQUIRIES:

Shell International Media Relations, +44(0)20-7934-5550

SOURCE Royal Dutch Shell plc

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