Royal Dutch Shell SWOT analysis

Tagline: Lets Go, You can be sure of Shell, Made to move further
Target group: Enterprises looking for production, people for petrol diesel for vehicles
and domestic uses
Positioning: The leading oil and natural gas brand in the world
Competitors: Chevron, Exxon Mobil, BP (British Petroleum), Total, Conco Phillips

Internal

External

Favorable
Strengths:
1. Strong reputation in the
field of energy (is the
seventh biggest oil
company according to
Forbes)
2. High financial growth,
since the 2008/2009
economic downturn
(strong capital base for
competing)
3. Has established strong
brands, such as Shell VPower and the Shell Fuel
Save
4. Latest technology,
diversified portfolio of
products (upstream and
downstream segments,
see below)
5. Co-branding with Ferrari
6. Operations in over 90
countries
Opportunities:
1. Acquisitions by buying out
competition
2. Increasing demand for
fuel

Weaknesses:

Unfavorable
Weaknesses:
1. Legal issues (see below)
2. Over statement of oil reserves
controversy (see below)
3. Ambiguous corporate
communications affected
marketing (see below)
4. Human Rights and
environmental issues
degraded image (see below)

Threats:
1. Government regulations
2. High competition
3. Environmental laws
4. Economic instability

2. In 2004 Shell overstated its oil reserves, resulting in loss of confidence in the
group, a 17 million fine by the Financial Services Authority and the departure of
the chairman Philip Watts. A lawsuit resulted in the payment of $450 million to nonAmerican shareholders in 2007.
Shell's advertising regarding its renewable energy business has been described as
a greenwash by some environmental lobbies, though its renewable energy activities
have been praised by other commentators.

3.The size and scale of the global operations of company may be a weakness due to
the difficulties of the company to control quality and standards of its products since
the operational conditions of different refinery sites differ. This also impacts
negatively on the administrative efficiency and effectiveness of the companys
management. Exposure to different regulatory regimes through the global presence
of the company presents difficulties in formulating uniform policies applicable to the
global operations of the company (Shell Plc, 2012).
In August 2008, the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that Shell
had misled the public in an advertisement when it claimed that a $10 billion oil
sands project in Alberta, Canada was a "sustainable energy source".

4. In the beginning of 1996, several human rights groups brought cases to hold
Shell accountable for alleged human rights violations in Nigeria, including summary
execution, crimes against humanity, torture, inhumane treatment and arbitrary
arrest and detention. In particular, Shell stood accused of collaborating in the
execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other leaders of the Ogoni tribe of southern
Nigeria, who were hanged in 1995 by Nigeria's then military rulers. [94] The lawsuits
were brought against Royal Dutch Shell and Brian Anderson, the head of its Nigerian
operation.[95] In 2009, Shell agreed to pay $15.5m in a legal settlement. [94] Shell has
not accepted any liability over the allegations against it. [96]
In 2009, Shell was the subject of an Amnesty International report into the
deterioration of human rights as a consequence of Shell's activities in the Niger
Delta. In particular, Amnesty criticised the continuation of gas flaring and Shell's
slow response to oil spills.[97]
In 2010, a leaked cable revealed that Shell claims to have inserted staff into all the
main ministries of the Nigerian government and know "everything that was being
done in those ministries", according to Shell's top executive in Nigeria. The same
executive also boasted that the Nigerian government had forgotten about the
extent of Shell's infiltration.[43] Documents released in 2009 (but not used in the

court case) reveal that Shell regularly made payments to the Nigerian military in
order to prevent protests.

Opportunities:
1.There are also opportunities for the company to expand to the emerging
economies like China through joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions like
acquisition of Neste Oil Oyj in Poland (Reuters, 2012b).
2.There is increasing awareness and concern for environmental sanity where
reduced carbon emission is a necessary consideration for most oil-related products.
Consequently, there is increasing demand for liquefied natural gas as a source of
clean energy. This is likely to increase the companys revenues from liquefied
natural gas.
Threats:
1.Increasing strict environmental regulations is also a threat to the current and
future operations of the company which will require more efficient and environment
friendly exploration and manufacturing technologies.
4.The economic slowdown in the US and European Union due to the debt crises
involving member countries presents a threat to the companys profitability.
Terrorism activities threaten the companys global functions by increasing related
business operational expenses. Fluctuating interest rates and the war in the Middle
East countries is also a threat to the company due to its global operations.

ABOUT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL

Shell is a global group of energy and petrochemical companies. Our

headquarters are in The Hague, the Netherlands, and our Chief Executive
Officer is Ben van Beurden. Shell has a single-tier Board of Directors
chaired by a non-executive chairman, Jorma Ollila. The parent company of
the Shell group is Royal Dutch Shell plc, which is incorporated in England
and Wales.
Our strategy to generate profitable growth remains to drive forward with our
investment program, to deliver sustainable growth and provide competitive returns
to shareholders, while helping to meet global energy demand in a responsible way.

In Upstream we focus on exploring for new oil and gas reserves and developing
major projects where our technology and know-how adds value to the resource
holders.
In Downstream our emphasis remains on sustained cash generation from our
existing assets and selective investments in growth markets.
Our values:
As a global energy company we set high standards of performance and ethical
behaviors. We are judged by how we act - our reputation is upheld by how we live
up to our core values honesty, integrity and respect for people. The Shell General
Business Principles, Code of Conduct and Code of Ethics help everyone at Shell act
in line with these values and comply with all relevant legislation and regulations.
Our business:
Upstream
Our Upstream business searches for and recovers crude oil and natural gas. It
liquefies and transports natural gas, and operates the infrastructure needed to
deliver both oil and natural gas to market. The Upstream business also extracts
bitumen an especially thick, heavy oil from oil sands and converts it into
synthetic crude oil. We are also developers of wind power as a means to generate
electricity.
Our Upstream businesses are grouped into two organizational units: Upstream
Americas, covering the Americas, and Upstream International, covering the rest of
the world with major interests in Europe, Asia/Middle East/Russia, Australia/Oceania
and Africa.
Downstream
Our Downstream business manages Shells refining and marketing activities for oil
products and chemicals. Refining includes manufacturing, supply and shipping of
crude oil. Marketing sells a range of products, including fuels, lubricants, bitumen
and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), for home, transport and industrial use.
Chemicals produces and markets petrochemicals for industrial customers, including
the raw materials for plastics, coatings and detergents.
The Downstream business also trades crude oil, oil products and petrochemicals
including supply to our own businesses and markets gas and power. It provides
shipping services by managing one of the worlds largest fleets of liquefied natural
gas (LNG) carriers) and oil tankers. In addition, Downstream oversees Shells
interests in alternative energy (excluding wind) and CO 2management.

Our strategy:
Meeting the growing demand for energy worldwide in ways that minimize
environmental and social impact is a major challenge for the global energy industry.
We aim to improve energy efficiency in our own operations: we support customers
in managing their energy demands and continue to research and develop
technologies that increase efficiency and reduce emissions in the production of
liquid products and natural gas.
Our commitment to technology and innovation continues to be at the core of our
strategy. As energy projects become more complex and more technically
demanding, we believe our engineering expertise will be a deciding factor in the
growth of our businesses.
Our key strengths include the development and application of technology, the
financial and project-management skills that allow us to deliver large field
development projects, and the management of integrated value chains.
We aim to leverage our diverse and global business portfolio and customer-focused
businesses built around the strength of the Shell brand.

Sources (in APA format):

About Shell. (n.d.). - Shell Global. Retrieved September 30, 2014, from
http://www.shell.com/global/aboutshell.
Royal Dutch Shell | SWOT Analysis | BrandGuide | MBA Skool-Study.Learn.Share..
(n.d.). Royal Dutch Shell | SWOT Analysis | BrandGuide | MBA Skool-Study.Learn.Share.. Retrieved
September 30, 2014, from http://www.mbaskool.com/brandguide/energy/406-royal-dutch-shell.html
SWOT and Porter Five Forces Analysis of Royal Dutch Shell. (2013, January 25). The WritePass
Journal. Retrieved September 30, 2014, from http://writepass.com/journal/2013/01/swot-and-porterfive-forces-analysis-of-royal-dutch-shell-plc/