Student Teams Prepare For the Ultimate Extracurricular Activity

HOUSTON, March 18 /PRNewswire/ -- As most high school and college students are busy tackling tests or taking it easy during spring break, student teams from across the Americas are preparing for the ultimate extracurricular activity -- designing, building, and testing a vehicle that travels the farthest distance using the least amount of energy. After months of coordinating designs and constructing vehicles, 43 student teams -- among 9 high schools and 29 universities -- are putting the finishing touches on their vehicles for the 2010 Shell Eco-marathon Americas energy challenge. These leaders of tomorrow, and their fuel-efficient creations, will soon take to the streets of downtown Houston, March 26-28 around Discovery Green Park.  We'll find out if these students can beat the 2,757.1 miles per gallon (1,172.2 kilometers per liter) achieved in 2009 by Laval University, but more than that, the students will grant us a glimpse into the fuels, technologies and transportation of tomorrow.  

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click:  http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/shelloil/42793/

(Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100318/MM69855 )

"By participating in the Shell Eco-marathon Americas, our team gets to take part in a rewarding program that helps us -- and other teams -- push the boundaries of fuel efficiency," said Maxime Lavigueur, Laval University team, winners of the 2009 Shell Eco-marathon Americas. "We're excited to get to the course in Houston and see if we can beat the mileage our team achieved last year. We're also really looking forward to seeing what the other teams built for 2010. We all bring different knowledge to the competition and getting to see what the other teams design is a big part of the fun."

The Shell Eco-marathon is a global mileage challenge and forum for current and future leaders who are passionate about finding sustainable solutions to the world's energy challenge. Students are asked to design, build and test eco-friendly vehicles that travel further using less energy. After three years in Southern California, the 2010 Shell Eco-marathon Americas is heading to Houston, the home of Shell's U.S. headquarters. This year, walkers, runners and cyclists at Discovery Green Park will be replaced by cars of the future as the student teams drive their fuel-efficient vehicles on the street track. This is the first time the Shell Eco-marathon Americas will be held on a street track, which presents new challenges in the urban street location, instead of the racetrack teams have competed on in the past. The event is also open to the public this year, so spectators can watch and cheer on the teams, or enjoy a variety of activities, including an art display by The Orange Show or a replica of the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil NASCAR car.

Similar to last year, student teams will participate in either the "Prototype" or "UrbanConcept" categories.  For the Prototype category, teams will enter futuristic prototypes -- streamlined vehicles that focus on maximizing fuel efficiency through innovative design elements, such as drag reduction. For the UrbanConcept category, teams will enter more "roadworthy" fuel-efficient vehicles. Aimed at meeting the real-life needs of drivers, these vehicles are closer in appearance to the higher-mileage cars seen on roads today. For both categories, teams can use any conventionally available energy source -- including fuels such as diesel, gasoline and liquid petroleum gas (LPG), as well as alternative fuels such as hydrogen, biomass and solar.

From vehicle design to financing, student teams manage their projects from start to finish. The winning teams in both the Prototype and UrbanConcept categories receive a grand prize of $5,000 USD for their school. Shell will also have several "off-track" awards again this year, including a "People's Choice Award," the "Safety Award," "Technical Innovation Award" and "Eco-friendly Award," among others.  

The 2010 Shell Eco-marathon Americas roster includes 50 vehicles from 43 teams including 9 high schools and 29 universities from Canada, Italy and the United States (Note: some teams listed below have multiple vehicle entries in different categories). The Prototype entries include 29 vehicles powered by combustion engines, two by diesel fuel, one by ethanol, five by fuel cell/hydrogen technology, one by LPG and two by solar power.  The UrbanConcept entries include six vehicles powered by combustion engines, two by diesel fuel, one by fuel cell/hydrogen technology and one by solar power.

The complete 2010 Shell Eco-marathon Americas roster is:

Prototype Category: 40 Vehicles

Combustion Engine: 29 Gasoline Vehicles

Combustion Engine: Two Diesel Vehicles

Combustion Engine: One Ethanol Vehicle

Fuel Cell: Five Vehicles

LPG: One Vehicle

Solar: Two Vehicles

UrbanConcept Category: 10 Vehicles

Combustion Engine: Six Vehicles

Diesel: Two Vehicles

Fuel Cell: One Vehicle

Solar: One Vehicle

To help ensure the 2010 Shell Eco-marathon Americas is a successful event for all the student participants, Shell is pleased to welcome the 2010 event sponsors, including the City of Houston, Autodesk, Michelin, Pennzoil Ultra, and SKF USA Inc. The 2010 Americas event will also welcome others including Kateri Callahan, President of Alliance to Save Energy, and Peter Diamandis, Founder of the X Prize Foundation, who will join Shell CEO, Peter Voser, and Shell Oil Company President, Marvin Odum, for a series of events to discuss the energy challenge and promote action to achieve a sustainable energy future.

With more than two successful decades in Europe, this mileage challenge came back to the U.S. as the Shell Eco-marathon Americas in April 2007. The Shell Eco-marathon concept started as the Shell Mileage Marathon in 1939 between employees of Shell at a research laboratory in Wood River, Illinois.  

In Europe, the 2010 Shell Eco-marathon project will take place at the EuroSpeedway in Lausitz, Germany in early May. The 2009 European event attracted teams from 29 countries, with the winning teams hailing from France, Denmark and Norway. In Asia, more than 100 teams are gearing up for the inaugural Shell Eco-marathon Asia, taking place in early July at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.

For more information on the Shell Eco-marathon Americas, please visit www.shell.com/ecomarathon.

Shell Oil Company, including its consolidated companies and its share in equity companies, is one of America's leading oil and natural gas producers, natural gas marketers, gasoline marketers and petrochemical manufacturers. Shell, a leading oil and gas producer in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, is a recognized pioneer in oil and gas exploration and production technology.  Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Shell Group, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies, employing approximately 104,000 people and operating in more than 110 countries and territories.

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 34% 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'', ''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 press release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for the Group's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserve 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 effects arising from recategorisation of reserves; (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, 2008 (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, March 16, 2010. 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.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permits oil and gas companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only proved reserves that a company has demonstrated by actual production or conclusive formation tests to be economically and legally producible under existing economic and operating conditions. We use certain terms in this press release that SEC's 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 www.sec.gov . You can also obtain these forms from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.

SOURCE Shell Oil Company

WANT YOUR COMPANY'S NEWS FEATURED ON PRNEWSWIRE.COM?

440k+
Newsrooms &
Influencers

9k+
Digital Media
Outlets

270k+
Journalists
Opted In

GET STARTED