Millions Of Shell Consumers Watch Their Fuel Prices Drop At The Pump

Consumers enjoy regular savings on high-quality fuel with grocery rewards programs

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May 10, 2012, 11:03 ET

HOUSTON, May 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Fuel prices are top of mind for many consumers and finding ways to save at the pump continues to be a priority. That's why Shell, the No. 1 selling gasoline brand in the U.S., wants to remind consumers that they can turn their everyday purchases on groceries into significant savings on high-quality fuel at participating Shell stations.

A recent study by the Convenience Consumer Insights Panel found that fuel savings programs are one of the ways consumers are looking to stretch their dollars. In fact, 89 percent of consumers responded they are motivated to shop more at grocery stores or other stores that participate in rewards programs[1].

Today, consumers in 130 markets across the country have enjoyed more than $200 million in fuel savings at over 8,000 Shell stations participating in grocery rewards programs. More than 3 million consumers are currently redeeming rewards at Shell to save at the pump by participating in programs across the country with a variety of grocers including BI-LO, Copps, Pick 'n Save, Rainbow, Lucky (Northern California), Save Mart, S-Mart Foods and Winn-Dixie. While grocers and offers vary by market, consumers can expect to earn rewards that save either 5 cents per gallon for every $50 or 10 cents per gallon for every $100 spent on qualified purchases.

Saving on fuel through these loyalty rewards programs is easy! Consumers simply shop at their participating grocers and when they use their grocers' rewards cards on everyday qualifying purchases, they also earn rewards. These rewards can then be redeemed for savings at participating area Shell stations on New Shell Nitrogen Enriched Gasolines and Shell Diesel.

"At Shell, we understand that consumers are looking for smart and easy ways to get more from their everyday purchases without sacrificing quality," said Dan Little, Shell North American Fuels Marketing Manager. "That's why we are pleased to see so many consumers already taking advantage of these rewards programs as we look forward to expanding them this year."

In 2009, Shell was the first major fuel brand to offer consumers the opportunity to earn significant fuel savings by teaming up with leading grocers across the country. Shell continues to look for ways to offer consumers even more value for their money without sacrificing the quality of fuel and is teaming up with Excentus, the leader in providing marketing programs and services utilizing cents-per-gallon fuel savings as the ultimate consumer reward, to help consumers save even more at the pump.

Later this year, Shell and Excentus will launch the Fuel Rewards Network™ program, a revolutionary rewards, program developed and operated by Excentus, that will allow consumers across the country to save significantly more at the pump by expanding the ways they can earn rewards. The Fuel Rewards Network program will allow consumers to combine or "stack" rewards earned from everyday purchases like groceries, clothing, dining out and more. With the ability to stack multiple rewards, consumers can lower their own price for fuel at Shell through their everyday purchases.

For more information about the grocery rewards programs, visit www.shell.us/grocery or find us on the On the Road tab on Facebook at www.facebook.com/shell. For additional ways to save at the pump and information on our approach on Smarter Mobility, go to www.shell.us/smarterdriving.

Shell Oil Products US, a subsidiary of Shell Oil Company, is a leader in the refining, transportation and marketing of fuels, with a network of approximately 6,000 Shell-branded gasoline stations in the western United States. Another 8,300 Shell-branded stations in the eastern and southern are managed by Motiva Enterprises LLC, a 50/50 joint venture between Shell Oil Company and Saudi Refining, Inc.

Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Royal Dutch Shell plc, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies with 93,000 employees in more than 90 countries. [(NYSE:RDS.A) and (NYSE:RDS.B)]

Excentus Corporation is the market leader in providing marketing and promotional programs and services utilizing fuel discounts as the ultimate consumer reward. Through its rapidly expanding portfolio of Fuel Rewards® programs, Excentus' retail partners are effectively competing and growing market share by saving their loyal customers over $100 million to-date on their gasoline purchases. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Excentus Corp. was founded in 1996 and is a privately held company with over 150 customers in the U.S. and Canada.

Cautionary Note

The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate entities. In this press 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 press 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 press 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 24% shareholding in Woodside Petroleum Ltd.) ownership interest held by Shell in a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party interest.

This press 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'', ''goals'', ''intend'', ''may'', ''objectives'', ''outlook'', ''plan'', ''probably'', ''project'', ''risks'', ''seek'', ''should'', ''target'', ''will'' 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 press 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 regulatory measures addressing climate change; (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 press 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 December 31, 2011 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov ). These factors also should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, May 10, 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 press release.

We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this press release that United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our 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 www.sec.gov. You can also obtain these forms from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.

[1] Convenience Store Decisions, November 23, 2011

SOURCE Shell