sHeLL IN ALAsKA

ALUMNInews
Published for SHELL ALUMNI IN THE AMERICAS | www.SHELL.US/ALUMNI
december 2012
LEVERAGING
EXPERTISE
REDUCING
FRESHWATER USE
QUEST A GO!
Employees celebrate
launch of Shell Technology
Center Houston.
Reclaimed water flows
at Dawson Creek.
CCS project in
Athabasca moves
forward.
SHELL IN ALASKA
PAge 4
SHELL NEWS
A WORD FROM
OUR EDITORS
Contents
2
When AlumniNews arrives in your mailbox
or inbox, what do you flip to first? Do
we keep you informed on Shell business
activities? Are you interested in our alumni
profiles? Are there sections you can’t do
without and others you’d rather see gone?
We want to hear from you! Help make
AlumniNews your go-to publication
for everything Shell by filling out our
AlumniNews survey at www.shell.us/
alumni. It only takes a few minutes and
will help us in customizing the magazine
to your wants and needs. If you don’t
have a computer handy, flip to page 5
and mail your completed survey to: Shell
Oil Company Communications - Amanda
Modglin Accardo, P.O. Box 2463,
Houston, Texas 77252-2463.
ALUMNINEWS
AlumniNews is published for Shell Americas.
Editors
Amanda Modglin Accardo and Hanneke Foppes, Shell Communications
Writer/copy editor
Susan Diemont-Conwell, Torma Communications
Design
Production Centre of Excellence, The Hague
Shell Human Resources
Pam Pfeiffer and Alicia Gomez
This publication is printed on 100% recycled paper.
GO GREEN!
Sign up to receive the newsletter electronically by visiting
www.shell.us/alumni. While you’re there, read the latest
news and information about Shell.
Thank you to those who have already chosen to go green!
Please note that in the coming months, we will be updating
our electronic database to better serve you. Stay tuned for
more details!
HIGHLIGHTS
03
QUEST project
04
Arctic readiness
05
AlumniNews survey
11
Reclaimed water facility
12
Shell Technology Center Houston
13
‘A fantastic adventure’
Visit www.shell.us/alumni for
everything alumni.
14
New Texas asset
Need forms? Want back issues of
AlumniNews magazine? Visit our Shell
alumni website for helpful links and phone
numbers and the latest news on Shell.
15
‘Have horse, will travel’
After you’ve filled out your survey, we
hope you’ll enjoy reading this issue of
AlumniNews. We’ve included stories on
the Shell Technology Center Houston, a
new liquids-rich shale acquisition in the
Permian Basin and information on our first
carbon capture and storage project in
the Canadian oil sands. As always, send
comments and suggested alumni feature
stories by mail or by emailing us
at [email protected].
Amanda Modglin Accardo and
Hanneke Foppes
Editors
AlumniNews magazine
YOU ASKED. WE DELIVERED!
We continue to expand the website.
Drop us a line at [email protected]
to give us feedback and tell us what you’d
like to see on the site.
Shell to construct world’s first oil sands carbon capture
and storage project.
Shell lays a strong foundation in Alaska.
Tell us what you think and help us customize the magazine.
Dawson Creek water treatment plant reduces freshwater use.
Facility leverages combined skills of upstream, downstream
Projects & Technology.
Charlie Williams looks back on 41 years with Shell.
Shell acquires liquids-rich shale in the Permian Basin.
Shell’s Rod Sinclair rides in Calgary Stampede parade.
ALUMNINEWS SURVEY!
See page 5.
SHELL NEWS
3
QUEST RECEIVES GREEN LIGHT
Shell to construct world’s first oil sands carbon
capture and storage project
Shell has green-lighted Quest, the first
carbon capture and storage (CCS)
project for an oil sands operation in
Canada. As majority owner, Shell will
design, build and operate the Quest
project on behalf of the Athabasca Oil
Sands Project (AOSP) joint venture
owners (Shell, Chevron and Marathon
Oil), as well as with support from the
governments of Canada and Alberta.
The announcement comes on the heels
of AOSP’s milestone achievement of
500 million barrels since production
began in 2003.
The project will capture more than
1 million tons per year of carbon
dioxide (CO2) from the Scotford
Upgrader located near Edmonton,
Alberta, and transport it via a 50-mile
(80-kilometer) underground pipeline to
a storage site north of the Scotford site.
There, the CO2 will be injected more
than one mile (two kilometers) underground into a porous rock formation
called the Basal Cambrian Sands
(BCS), which is located beneath layers
of impermeable rock. Sophisticated
monitoring technologies will ensure the
CO2 is permanently stored.
According to Chief Executive Officer
Peter Voser, CCS is critical to meeting
the huge projected increase in global
energy demand while reducing CO2
emissions. “If you want to achieve
climate change goals, CCS has to be
part of the solution. We are helping to
advance CCS technology on a number
of fronts around the world, but Quest
will be our flagship project.
CO2 produced in bitumen processing,
Quest will reduce direct emissions from
the Scotford Upgrader by up to 35
percent—equivalent to taking
175,000 North American cars off the
road each year.
“Quest is another example of how we
are using technology and innovation to
improve the environmental
performance of our oil sands
operations,” says Shell Executive Vice
President of Heavy Oil John Abbott.
“The opportunity Quest provides to
reduce emissions from our upgrading
activities is an important achievement
in itself, but the project’s technical and
strategic value reaches beyond the
emissions it will capture.”
Supporting a key industry
Alberta’s oil sands are a secure,
reliable source of energy and an
economic engine that drives
employment, training and business
development across Canada and
beyond. Both the Canadian federal
and Albertan provincial governments
have identified CCS as an important
technology in their strategies to reduce
CO2 emissions. The Alberta
government will invest $745 million in
Quest from a $2 billion fund to support
CCS, while the Canadian government
will invest $120 million through its
Clean Energy Fund.
Quest forms the core of Shell’s CCS
research program and will help
develop Shell’s CO2 capture
technology. The company has received
the necessary federal and provincial
regulatory approvals for Quest.
Construction has begun and will
employ an average of about 400
skilled trades workers over roughly 30
months, peaking at about 700.
To improve efficiency, up to 50 percent
of project work will be done offsite at
a construction yard. Shell will use
third-party construction facilities in
Edmonton, helping the continuing
development of key construction
capacity in the province. Large
pre-assembled modules will then be
delivered to the Shell site for
installation.
In 2011, Quest received the world’s
first certificate of fitness for its storage
development plan from Det Norske
Veritas (DNV), an international risk
management firm. DNV assembled a
panel of seven CCS experts from
academia and research institutions to
perform the review over a two-week
period.
“Quest is important because it is a fully
integrated project that will demonstrate
existing capture, transportation,
injection and storage technologies
working together for the safe and
permanent storage of CO2. The
knowledge it provides will help enable
much wider and more cost-effective
application of CCS throughout the
energy industry and other sectors in
years to come,” Abbott concludes. «
“We will need all sources of energy to
meet world demand in the coming
decades,” Voser continues. “Lower
CO2 energy sources will grow, but
even by 2050, at least 65 percent of
our energy will still come from fossil
fuels. CCS will be important to
manage climate impacts.”
Quest in action
The Athabasca Oil Sands Project
produces bitumen, which is piped to
Shell’s Scotford Upgrader near
Edmonton, Alberta. By capturing the
From left to right: Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver; Minister of Energy Ken Hughes; Shell
Canada Country Chair Lorraine Mitchelmore; Shell Executive Vice President Heavy Oil John Abbott;
President Marathon Oil Canada Ken Woodworth; President Chevron Canada Jeff Lehrmann.
4
SHELL NEWS
Laying a strong foundation in Alaska
Alaska’s Chukchi and Beaufort Seas
are the most promising undeveloped
hydrocarbon basins in the United
States. The U.S. Federal Government
estimates that Alaska’s offshore holds
27 billion barrels of oil and 132
trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The
Alaska exploration program is critical
to America’s energy needs, to the
economy and to creating jobs in
Alaska, which is why Shell is
engaged in a multi-year drilling
program to explore for new oil and
gas resources.
Demonstrating Arctic readiness
Several years of technical preparations, stakeholder engagement,
permitting, training, ship construction
and logistics-planning have led to the
progress that Shell saw throughout the
2012 open water season.
The company has developed and
deployed operational capabilities for
an offshore program that will extend
over years to come. These include
two rigs and over 20 marine vessels
in theater to provide logistics support
and oil spill response if needed. Shell
is strengthening its scientific
knowledge of the geology,
oceanography, biodiversity and
meteorology of the area. The
company continues to build strong
relationships with regulators and
stakeholders, and multiple layers of
protection have been put in place
against the remote possibility of a
well control incident.
Making history,
with more to come
On September 9, crews aboard the
Noble Discoverer began drilling. It
was the first time a drill bit touched
the sea floor in the U.S. Chukchi Sea
in more than two decades.
Meanwhile, as the seasonal whale
hunt in the Beaufort Sea concluded,
Shell once again made a mark in
history. On October 3, exploratory
drilling in the Beaufort Sea
commenced. This occasion marked
the first time two rigs have been
drilling simultaneously offshore Alaska
in over two decades.
“We look forward to operating safely
and responsibly, putting Americans to
work and adding to Shell’s long,
successful history of drilling offshore
Alaska,” says Pete Slaiby, vice
president, Shell in Alaska.
Refocusing the program
On September 17, Shell announced
that it successfully completed a series
of tests of the first-ever Arctic
Containment System. However,
during a final test, the containment
dome aboard the Arctic Challenger
barge was damaged.
The time required to repair the dome,
along with steps Shell has taken to
protect local whaling operations and
to ensure the safety of operations
from ice floe movement, led the
company to revise its plans for the
2012-2013 exploration program.
In order to lay a strong foundation for
operations in 2013, Shell decided to
forgo drilling into hydrocarbon zones
this year and instead begin as many
wells, known as “top holes,” as time
remaining in the season allowed.
For more information on Shell in
Alaska, visit www.shell.us/alaska, or
follow us on Facebook or Twitter. «
UPDATE: PORT ARTHUR REFINERY
Days after the commissioning
ceremony of Motiva’s Port Arthur
Refinery expansion (highlighted in the
September issue of AlumniNews), the
crude distillation unit—which is part
of the recently completed 325,000
barrels-per-day expansion project—
was safely shut down without any
injuries after it experienced
operational issues. While inspection
activities and repairs continue on the
crude unit, the original Port Arthur
Refinery continues to operate
normally at 275,000 barrels-per-day
distillation capacity.
Preliminary inspection found that part
of the unit had been accidentally
contaminated with high levels of
caustic (sodium hydroxide), which
resulted in cracks in stainless steel
piping and other parts of the crude
unit. All seven of the other expansion
units built during the expansion
project are fully operational, though
some are running at reduced
capacity. Motiva is targeting to restart
the crude unit in early 2013. The
safety of employees and protection of
the environment will continue to
remain the top priority while Motiva
addresses the ongoing work. «
Penske signs Logano to drive Shell-Pennzoil car
With an impressive track record of wins from an early
age, Joey Logano is one of NASCAR’s fastest rising
stars. Now Logano has joined the Penske Racing team
and will drive the the team’s No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil
Ford in the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The
series starts with the Daytona Shoot-out, February 16 in
Florida. Logano, a two-time Cup Series winner who is
currently competing in his fourth full season at age 22,
has a multi-year agreement with Penske Racing. In
addition to his pair of victories, four poles and
16 top-five finishes in his young Cup Series career,
Logano has also produced 15 wins and 19 poles in
five seasons competing in the NASCAR Nationwide
Series. «
YOUR FEEDBACK!
5
ALUMNINEWS SURVEY
We would love your feedback to make AlumniNews even better. In the survey below, please check the boxes
that apply or fill in the blanks as prompted. To submit your survey via mail, please cut out the survey and
mail it to Amanda Modglin Accardo. To answer the survey online, please visit www.shell.us/alumni.
Do you look forward to receiving AlumniNews magazine?
 Very much  A little  Not so much
Do you usually read:  All of the magazine  None of the magazine
*If only certain sections, which sections do you read?
 Only certain sections*
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Do you feel informed about Shell’s business?
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Rate the following AlumniNews sections in terms of how much they interest you on a scale of 1 to 5
(1 = not at all, 2 = little, 3 = indifferent, 4 = somewhat, 5 = very much):
News about the company and Shell projects: ____
Alumni features: ____
Health Matters: (U.S. only) ____
Alumni Club Calendar: (U.S. only) ____
English-Canada regional section: (Canada only) ____
French-Canada regional section: (Canada only) ____
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Does it help you to discuss issues concerning Shell and the oil/gas industry
with friends and family? Yes
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Would you be interested in friends and family documents outlining
Shell’s stance on key issues and topics?  Yes
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Do you feel as though you can easily contribute content? Yes
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Do you feel a connection to the business articles included in AlumniNews? Yes*
*If yes, would you be interested in contributing your own experiences with
projects highlighted and perhaps photos for publication? Yes  No
Do you ever visit the Shell website to learn more about a topic you read in AlumniNews?
Tell us about you:

Do you have a computer? Yes
Do you have an iPad® and/or iPhone®?  iPad

Do you surf the Internet? Yes
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Have you ever visited the Shell Alumni website?  Yes
If you have visited the Shell Alumni website:
How easy is it for you to use?  Very easy
If difficult or very difficult, why?
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6
YOUR FEEDBACK!
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Note: Your contact information is for internal purposes only and will not be made public in any way.
Mail your completed survey to:
Shell Oil Company
Communications - Amanda Modglin Accardo
P.O. Box 2463
Houston, Texas 77252-2463
REGIONAL FOCUS united States
7
A WORD FROM SHELL RETIREMENT FUNDS
Minimum Required Distributions: Week of December 17
Fidelity will automatically distribute Minimum Required
Distributions (MRDs) the week of December 17 from Shell
Provident Fund (SPF) accounts that are subject to the MRD
rules and have not yet taken the required distribution.
To find out more on MRDs, see page 23 of
your Summary Plan Description in the green
Wealth booklet.
The MRD rules require distributions starting with the year
that a participant reaches 70 ½ years of age or, if later,
the year in which they retire. The MRD payment for the
year participants turn 70 ½ can be delayed until April 1
of the following year. For all subsequent years, including
the year in which the first MRD was paid by April 1, the
MRD must be distributed by December 31 of that year.
Under IRS regulations, the SPF must distribute MRDs to
eligible participants by the specified date. This is different
than an IRA where the regulations put the responsibility on
the IRA owner to withdraw the funds. As a result of
participant feedback, Fidelity has scheduled SPFs
automatic MRDs at the end of their processing cycle.
Please refer to page 23 of your Summary Plan Description
(green Dimensions “Wealth” booklet) for additional
information on how MRDs are calculated and funded.
Participants can make arrangements to take their MRD
from the SPF by calling the Shell Benefits Service Center
(800-307-4355). If you are subject to the MRD rules and
have not made prior MRD distribution arrangements by
4 p.m. Eastern time on December 14, your MRD payment
will be automatically distributed from your SPF account the
week of December 17 (except for the MRD payment
following 70 ½, as noted above, which will be paid the
following March). «
FROM OUR READERS
“Your September AlumniNews article reporting the Award
for Excellence in Applied Catalysis for Dick Mullineaux and
Lynn Slaugh was of interest to me. We are approaching
the 50th anniversary of the first shipment of NEODOL from
the Houston Plant—July 6, 1965. As the leader of the
start-up team, I still have a bottle of the first commercial
production of n-butanol and NEODOL, as well as copies of
the telexes sent to the head office in New York announcing
the fastest plant start-up in Shell Chemical history.
“Commercialization of a chemical reaction like
hydroformylation requires a highly skilled team of
engineers, chemists and scientists. Shell had a real talent
for knowing how to assemble and manage these teams of
experts that could bring a scientific process to commercial
fruition.
The first tank car of NEODOL—July 6, 1965. From the commercial
start-up team, from left, Frank Caddy, Charles Greene, Chuck Champ
and Bob Robertson.
“A motivated and dedicated team from Shell Development
took the laboratory observations of Dick Mullineaux and
Lynn Slaugh and developed these concepts into
commercial processes that led to production of NEODOL.
The skills and subject-matter expertise of Shell’s process
development start-up teams was unmatched by our
competitors, and I myself felt privileged to have
participated in and led teams for three successful
commercial start-ups.” «
Charles Greene
(’80 Shell Development Company, Westhollow)
Charles Greene holds the first bottle of NEODOL.
8
REGIONAL FOCUS united States
Club Calendar
ALASKA
Kenai. Shell Alaska Alumni Club. Wayne Carroll,
907-776-5724, [email protected]. Mail: P.O. Box 7002,
Nikiski, AK 99635.
ARKANSAS
Hot Springs. Arkansas Shell Alumni Club. Lunch:
First Tuesday of the month, 11:30 a.m. Jack Williams:
501-915-8245, [email protected]. Mail:
21 Sorpresa Way, Hot Springs Village, AR 71909.
CALIFORNIA
Bakersfield. Retired Shell Employees of San Joaquin.
Don Harrison: 661-763-4568, [email protected].
Mail: 27901 Tank Farm Road, Taft, CA 93268.
Martinez. Martinez Refinery Complex Alumni.
John Rippee: 925-686-1197, [email protected].
Mail: 6 Stella Court, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523.
Placentia. Shell Alumni of Southern California.
Joseph M. Tully III: 949 215-5775, [email protected].
Mail: 28212 San Marcos, Mission Viejo, CA 92692.
COLORADO
Denver. Mile High Shell Retirees. Mike Anderson:
303-799-8505, [email protected]. Mail: 9228
Meredith Ct., Lone Tree, CO 80124.
Norco. Shell Norco Retirees’ Club. Bill Collins:
985-764-6888, [email protected].
Mail: 29 Edgewood, Destrehan, LA 70047.
MICHIGAN
Traverse City. Michigan Shell Alumni Club. Jan Mack:
231-590-2771, [email protected]. Mail: 1404 N.
South Long Lake, Traverse City, MI 49685.
MISSISSIPPI
Florence. North Louisiana and Mississippi Shell Alumni
Club. Woody Woodmansee, 601-845-2171,
[email protected]. Mail: 178 Houston Acres Road,
Florence, MS 39073.
MISSOURI
Ballwin. St. Louis Shell Retirees Club. Monthly luncheon:
Fourth Thursday of every month, Syberg’s Restaurant.
Chuck Erwin: 636-394-4434, [email protected].
Mail 574 Spragues Mill Ct., Ballwin, MO 63011.
NEW JERSEY
Sewaren. Garden State SO Shellites. Bob Fischer:
732-969-1565. Mail: 134 7th St., Port Reading, NJ 07064.
Woodbury. Woodbury Poly Pros. Richard Rupertus:
856-455-1705, [email protected]. Mail: 31 Seeley Rd.,
Bridgeton, NJ 08302.
GEORGIA
Marietta. Shell Ladies and Old Boys. Ken Hyde:
770-973-8207, [email protected]. Mail: 4509
Woodhaven, N.E., Marietta, GA 30067.
NEW YORK
Floral Park. Asiatic/Scallop/Shell Retirees Club of New
York. Bob Sigmann: 973-887-2742, [email protected].
Mail: 137 Harrison Road, Parsippany, NJ 07054.
ILLINOIS
Effingham. Shell Pipeline Tri-State Retirees. Mel Sieben:
217-343-2079, [email protected].
NORTH CAROLINA
Charlotte. Carolina Alumni and Retirees of Shell.
Ed Cassady: 704-814-4520, [email protected].
Mail: 1624 Hugh Forest Road, Charlotte, NC 28270.
Wood River. Wood River Refinery Retiree Association.
Willie Generally: 618-466-5147, [email protected].
Mail: P.O. Box 444, Godfrey, IL 62035-0444.
LOUISIANA
Baton Rouge. Shell Geismar Area Retirees Club. Isadore
Brown: 225-766-8325, [email protected]. Mail: 9438
Wild Valley Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70810.
Houma. Shell Cajun Alumni Club. Russell Poiencot:
985-872-4619. Mail: 244 Grande St., Houma, LA 70363.
Lake Charles. Shell Retirees of Lake Charles. Fred Berger:
337-474-7011, [email protected]. Mail: 4218 Mary
Ann Lane, Lake Charles, LA 70605.
Norco. Shell Chemical Norco Plant Alumni Club.
Leroy A. Morales: 504-467-4639 or Sheryl Lupo:
[email protected]. Mail: #7 Lasso Lane, St. Rose,
LA 70087.
OHIO
Westlake. Ohio Shell Pensioners Club. Richard Mowry:
419-341-4377, [email protected].
Mail: 200 N. Crest Dr., Port Clinton, OH 43452.
OKLAHOMA
Tulsa. Mid-Central Shell Alumni Association. John Digges:
918-252-3307, [email protected]. Mail: 9108 East 59th
Place, Tulsa, OK 74145.
OREGON
Portland. Portland Shell Activities Club. Luncheon:
Last Wednesday of each month, 11:30 a.m., Broadmoor
Golf Course. Dan Harshburger: 541-390-9622.
Mail: 453 NW Flagline Dr., Bend, OR 97701.
Siskiyou. Siskiyou Shell Alumni Club of Southern Oregon.
Derek Eck: 541-552-9134, [email protected].
Mail: 1000 Paradise Lane, Ashland, OR 97520.
REGIONAL FOCUS united States
9
HEALTH MATTERS
TEXAS
Austin. Austin/Hill Country Alumni Club. Vic Figurelli:
512-931-0108, [email protected]. Mail: 116 Ruellia
Dr., Georgetown, TX 78633.
Brenham. Central Texas Shell Retirees Club.
Doug Winters: 979-542-1129. Mail: P.O. Box 1056,
Giddings, TX 78942.
Living the Well-Aged Life
By Tom Gray, Achieve Solutions
Your later years could be the best years of your life. Harvard
Medical School psychiatrist George Vaillant, MD, has the case
studies to prove it. As director of the Harvard Study of Adult
Development, Vaillant has spent 35 years following the lives of
several hundred people as they’ve progressed into their 70s
and 80s.
Dallas/Fort Worth. D/FW Shell Alumni Association.
Duggan Smith: 817-579-5306, [email protected].
Mail: P.O. Box 5262, Granbury, TX 76049.
Hallettesville. South Central Texas Shell Pensioners
Club. John Butschek: 361-798-5967.
Mail: 700 N. Dowling St., Hallettsville, TX 77964.
Houston. Shell Alumni Association of Greater Houston.
Colin Kiernan: 281-499-4067,
[email protected]. Mail: 3122 North Park
Drive, Missouri City, TX 77459.
Houston. Shell Northwest Alumni Club.
Tom McNamara: 281-225-8143, [email protected].
Mail: 10030 Eden Valley, Spring, TX 77379.
Midland. Shell Alumni Group of the Permian Basin.
Dave Daupert: 432-688-8772, dnduppy@grandecom.
net. Mail: 2406 Auburn Pl., Midland, TX 79705.
Pasadena. Shell DPMC Retirees. Monthly meeting:
First Thursday of each month, 11 a.m. at the East Harris
County Activity Center. Angelo Pulido: 281-479-3058,
[email protected]. Mail: 750 Amherst Lane,
Houston, TX 77536.
WEST VIRGINIA
Parkersburg. Shell/Kraton Belpre Plant Retirees.
Jerry Watson: 304-422-6988, jcwatson1999@frontier.
com. Mail: 451 Watson Rd., Parkersburg, WV 26104.
HOLE-IN-ONE
Harry Frank (’01 Shell Chemical)
scored his third hole-in-one on July 25,
using a 5-hybrid on a 145-yard, par-3
hole at Blackhorse North Course in
Houston.
Ward McCarley (’06 Shell E&P) scored his first
hole-in-one April 11 at Roy Kizer Golf Course in
Austin. He used a gap wedge on the 127-yard
15th hole. He also made his second hole-in-one
September 3 with a 4-iron on the 190-yard 6th
hole at Shadowglen Golf Club in Manor, Texas.
He has come away with a cheering message: Life after
50 need not be a period of steady decline and shrinking
social horizons.
Quite the contrary, he says, adults who master life’s stages of
emotional maturation find aging a richly fulfilling time.
Learning from those already there
Vaillant says his research, distilled in his recent book Aging
Well, presents a view of aging from the perspective of those
who are already there. As such, he says, “It shifts attention
away from the middle-aged gurus who are scared about aging
and talk about cellulite and diet and exercise, and it pays
attention to people who actually know how to play the game.”
Mastering a series of life tasks
Common themes emerged in Vaillant’s studies. One is that the
personality doesn’t stand still. It doesn’t freeze at some point in
adulthood, never to change. Nor, says Vaillant, is the life cycle
an up-and-down affair, with growth up to middle age and
declining powers from then on. Instead, he says the story of
successful adulthood and old age is a “sequential mastery of a
series of life tasks.”
Taking a cue from Danish psychoanalyst Erik Erikson, Vaillant
says adult development is (or should be) a “widening radius
over time.” In youth, the task is to achieve an identity, a sense
of one’s own self and values. The next task is intimacy, or
learning to live with another person for the long term in an »
10
REGIONAL FOCUS united States
interdependent, committed, contented way. Then comes
“career consolidation.” This is the job of assuming “a social
identity within the world of work.” It’s at this point, when
someone has achieved identity, intimacy and made some mark
on the work world, that one faces the tasks associated with
aging. The first is “generativity” which requires a person “to
unselfishly guide the next generation.” This is the communitybuilding stage, in which people start focusing less on personal
achievement and more on mentoring, teaching and leading a
younger generation.
Mastery of generativity “tripled the chances that the decade of
the 70s would be for these men and women a time of joy and
not of despair.” Later, as the days increase, people assume the
task of wise judge, or what Vaillant calls “keeper of the
meaning.” People at this point take responsibility for the wider
culture and past traditions, not just for the people around them.
Grandparents teaching grandchildren about the past are
keepers of the meaning, as are those who write local histories.
The final task is Erikson’s “integrity”—coming to terms with
one’s life, accepting it as it was; the goal is to die at peace
with oneself and, as Erikson suggests, to show the young how
not to fear death.
Growing old with grace
How can we recognize someone who has mastered these
tasks? Vaillant says those who “grow old with grace” tend to
have these characteristics:
 They care about others and are open to new ideas.
As much as is physically possible, they help others rather
than insist that others care for them.
They show cheerful tolerance for the indignities of aging,
turning life’s lemons into lemonade whenever possible.
They maintain hope in life and cherish initiative, believing
that “development goes on for all of our lives.”
They retain a sense of humor and a capacity for play. They
are able to spend time in the past and “take sustenance
from past accomplishments,” but they also remain curious
and continue to learn from the next generation.
 They stay in touch with old friends while making new ones.
Other research
These prescriptions for healthy aging do not work in all cases.
They require healthy brain function—they cannot really make
the future brighter for victims of Alzheimer’s disease. But most
of the elderly stay lucid, and most are able to live
independently. And on the whole they’re happy. Maddox notes
that only about 20 percent will have contact with a nursing
home, and far fewer will undergo extended stays. In other
words, aging may have its tasks that must be mastered, but so
does life in general. And those with the right attitudes, habits
and ties to kin and community can look forward to leading a
well-aged life. «
Source: Aging Well: Surprising Guideposts to a Happier Life From the
Landmark Harvard Study of Adult Development by George E. Vaillant.
WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES
50 YEARS
Jerry Carpunky (’97 Shell Oil
Company) and wife, Carol:
Aug. 3.
John C. Gardner (’95 Shell E&P
at Bakersfield) and wife, Pearl:
Sept. 8.
Mary Henley (’95 Shell Oil
Company) and husband, Vern:
Sept. 8.
Willie Kleen (’02 West Coast
Pipeline) and wife, Jeanie:
Aug. 24.
Don Longwell (’93 Shell Oil
Company) and wife, Joy: July 15.
Lois B. Roberts (‘01 Shell
Chemical) and husband, Larry:
July 21.
Jack Shelton (’96 Shell Refinery)
and wife, Randi: Sept. 7.
Bob Slocum (’92 Mobile Refining
& Marketing Plant) and wife,
Jeanie: Aug. 25.
Francis Wieseman (’04 Shell
Oil Company) and wife, Jenny:
Sept. 8.
55 YEARS
E. L. (Ed) Creamer (’97
Westhollow) and wife, Alice:
Jan. 4.
60 YEARS
Clarence F. Conrad (’89 Shell
Offshore Inc.) and wife, Roberta:
Sept. 20.
George Green (’80 Shell
Chemical) and wife, Elizabeth:
Sept. 27.
Thomas Field (’96 Norco
Refinery) and wife, Zoe.
John A. Lopez (’93 Westhollow)
and wife, Dorothy: Nov. 9.
Jack Hughes (’92 Head Office
E&P) and wife, Bettie: Aug 16.
Ed Mergens (’89 Shell Oil
Company) and wife, Betty:
Aug. 31.
Robert Miller (’93 Shell Dev. Co.
Bellaire Research Center) and
wife, Joyce: Aug. 17.
Ralph Sandall (’90 Shell Deer
Park) and wife, Marcie: Oct. 6.
Larry J. Schexnaydre (’93 Norco
Manufacturing Complex)
& wife, Sharon : Dec. 1.
LF (Lynn) Wright (‘06 Shell
Chemical) and husband, Richard:
Jan. 13.
65 YEARS
Fred O. Gerbode (’88 Shell
Pipeline) and wife, Shirley Dawn:
July 3.
100...
and ting!
coun
Happy birthday
to the following
centenarians.
H.A. Mitchell, 100
R.E. Thomas, 100
P.W. Wield, 102
SHELL NEWS
11
RECLAIMED WATER FLOWING
Dawson Creek water treatment plant reduces freshwater use
Shell is reducing its environmental
impact and scoring big with its
neighbors with the opening of the
Dawson Creek water treatment plant in
British Columbia. The reclaimed water
facility, an innovative partnership
between Shell and the City of Dawson
Creek, will virtually eliminate Shell’s
need to draw on fresh water for its
Groundbirch shale gas operations.
With the capacity to treat 141 cubic
feet (4,000 cubic meters) of
wastewater a day—equivalent to the
amount of water used by more than
12,000 Canadian households*—the
facility will not only meet Shell’s water
needs, but will supply the City of
Dawson Creek with non-potable water,
further preserving local freshwater
sources. The waste water will be
treated to a standard suitable for
industrial and municipal uses (such as
enough natural gas to meet the needs
of approximately 400,000 Canadian
homes. The reclaimed water will be
stored in ponds and later mixed with
recycled production water for drilling
operations and well completions. The
30-mile (48-kilometer) pipeline is
expected to take approximately 100
trucks off the road each day over the
course of full gas field development,
mitigating safety risks and resulting in
less traffic, noise and dust on the
roadways.
The facility answers public and
stakeholder concerns around water use
during shale gas development
(hydraulic fracturing). While studies
conducted by Harvard and MIT show
the water intensity of shale gas ranks
among the lowest of all known fuel
sources, the project is in line with the
company’s commitment to minimize its
says Minister of Energy and Mines
Rich Coleman.
“Across all our operations, we strive to
work collaboratively with local
communities, governments and
industries to identify innovative
solutions to complex challenges,” says
Lorraine Mitchelmore, Shell Canada
president and country chair. “Through
this collaborative partnership with the
City of Dawson Creek, we are virtually
eliminating the amount of fresh water
used for our operations, providing the
city with an additional source of
revenue and reducing three million
kilometers a year in truck traffic from
local roads.”
To learn more about the project, visit
www.shell.ca/reclaimedwater.
*Canadians use an average of 87 gallons
(329 liters) of water each day for household
and gardening purposes. «
The water-energy-food
nexus
In addition to meeting virtually all of Groundbirch’s future water needs, the Dawson Creek reclaimed facility
will supply the City of Dawson Creek with non-potable water, further preserving local freshwater sources.
cleaning roads and watering sports
fields) and provide a new source of
revenue for the city.
“The new plant demonstrates the value
to our community of working
collaboratively with industry to find
innovative solutions to shared
challenges. Water is a limited resource
and we need to use it carefully and
responsibly. This facility allows us to do
that,” says Dawson Creek Mayor Mike
Bernier.
Shell will pipe its share of reclaimed
water to its natural gas operations to
the west of Dawson Creek, where the
company operates the Groundbirch
shale gas field, which produces
impact on water, air, wildlife and the
communities in which it operates. Last
year, Shell introduced operating
principles for onshore tight sand/shale
oil and gas, including operating
principles relating to water.
“The use of treated waste water is an
excellent step forward by Shell and the
City of Dawson Creek to improve
resource demands and operations,
and is an example of a green project
that has already resulted in positive
change. The Government of British
Columbia applauds the work and
commitment that has resulted in this
fine facility, which is a model we hope
other industry players and local
governments will strive to replicate,”
In its global operations, Shell
considers the world’s water, energy
and food systems to be tightly
linked: water is needed to extract
energy and generate power; energy
is needed to treat and transport
water; and both water and energy
are needed to grow food.
Shell strives to conserve water in its
operations through the development
of new technologies and processes,
but also by working with
communities to find local solutions
to water use, as has happened in
Dawson Creek.
Tangible
environmental benefits
At Groundbirch, Shell Canada
recycles approximately 75 percent
of the water produced during its
operations. Once Groundbirch
operations are fully up and running,
the company’s goal is to nearly
eliminate the need to draw on city
wastewater or freshwater sources.
12
SHELL NEWS
SHELL LAUNCHES TECHNOLOGY
CENTER HOUSTON
Houston facility leverages combined skills of upstream
and downstream Projects & Technology
The Shell Technology Center Houston
(STCH) recently launched internally,
making it the first time in the U.S. that
upstream and downstream Projects &
Technology (P&T) employees have been
brought together in one location. The
new facility will help the company
leverage combined skills and capacity
into a unified technology strategy.
Kelly Showalter, site manager at STCH,
kicked off the launch. “We are no
longer Westhollow, Westhollow
Technology Center or Bellaire
Technology Center. Today, we are
celebrating the official launch of Shell
Technology Center Houston,” she says.
Reflecting on the start
Three years ago, Shell put together a
strategy to combine upstream and
downstream into one location at the
then Houston Westhollow campus and
to continue to leverage Shell’s
technology expertise.
“We wanted the facility to be worldclass to enable that technology
development,” says Jimmy Hunter,
modernization project manager, Shell
Real Estate.
Hunter went on to note that this project
was all done during a time when the
financial community was in distress and
Shell was making a very significant
commitment to the Houston market.
“We put together a very complex
three-and-a-half-year strategy that
involved renovation, new construction
and having to maintain the operations
throughout the execution. Now that we
have finished the project and can reflect
back on how the strategy unfolded and
see the level of excitement that is
starting to develop here, we can say it
truly was visionary for Shell to make this
commitment during the downturn.”
Bringing it all together
Realizing the challenges of
incorporating diverse disciplines and
cultures from Houston’s Bellaire
Technology Center, Westhollow and
even employees from the Woodcreek
campus into one location, STCH
centered its launch activities on bringing
innovation, people and communities
together.
The three-day internal launch was
designed to identify synergies and
interdependencies and to leverage
more advanced ways of working. The
goal: enabling faster development of
more “firsts” and achieving true
world-class performance.
“It’s been a process that’s long overdue.
I’ve seen a lot of labs in the world—
what we have here is absolutely
world-class. For employees who have to
work in that environment, I think it’s a
huge step forward,” says Ben Van Den
Brule, vice president, Unconventional
Technology.
STCH helps leverage
combined skills and capacity
into a unified technology
strategy.
Leveraging technology and
innovation
The first day’s events focused on
innovation—in particular, finding
solutions to each other’s challenges.
During a 25-minute speed-meet
exercise, facilitated by GameChangers,
STCH colleagues introduced
themselves, interviewed each other
about the challenges they face and
discussed solutions to meet key hurdles.
On the second and third days of
festivities, the site switched gears from
work and focused more on bringing
employees and their families together.
Employees had the opportunity to meet
and network with coworkers while
perusing booths for local social groups,
networks and activities. And over the
weekend, employees and their families
participated in a safety carnival.
As the site moves forward, the focus
remains on bringing employees
together as one family to thrive in the
community and advance Shell’s unified
technology strategy. “This is about
people, technology, development and
the community that exists here—the
facility is an enabler. I’m extremely
excited about the future here, and I
hope that the people who work here
are excited about the possibilities
moving forward,” Hunter concludes. «
The speed-meet exercise gave employees the opportunity to share some of the challenges they face
and discuss solutions to meet key hurdles.
FEATURE
13
‘A FANTAStIC ADVENTURE’
Charlie Williams looks back on 41 years with Shell
Charlie Williams (‘12 Well
Engineering and Production) has seen
Shell achieve a lot of “firsts” in the
industry. “We were the first in deep
water, we were the first in achieving
high-pressure, high-temperature wells,
and we were the first in making steam
floods in California successful. Time
after time, Shell has faced difficult
challenges, and through technological
innovation, we’ve turned it into a
business success.”
During his 41 years with Shell,
Williams not only witnessed these
firsts—he played an integral role in
making many of them possible. The
alumnus, who retired in May from his
position as chief scientist for Well
Engineering and Production,
specialized in wells that had special
challenges, including sour gas hightemperature, high-pressure wells;
deepwater wells; and wells used in
carbon dioxide sequestration. “The
knowledge we gained from solving one
problem would be applied to the next
challenge. Shell was a continuously
exciting place to work.”
Technically exciting projects
From his first days at Shell, Williams felt
valued as a mechanical engineer,
though his first office in 1971 left
something to be desired. “I worked in
the Gentilly office on West Esplanade in
New Orleans. It was a small three-story
building, and to create additional office
space, they had walled in the parking
garage on the first floor. My first office
had concrete walls, no windows and a
metal door,” he muses.
Despite the sparse accommodations,
Williams knew he made the right
choice in joining Shell. “My first day on
the job, they were getting ready to do a
well completion in the Gibson field
between Morgan City and Houma,
Louisiana. I went straight out to the
barge rig and started running tubing on
the high-pressure well. This was one of
the few high-pressure wells being done
at the time, and I was given this
responsibility right off the bat. It was a
unique opportunity and it influenced a
good portion of my career.”
“We are only as
good as our safety
and environmental
management
systems.”
Charlie Williams is applying the experience he gained during his 41 years at Shell to his new
position: executive director of the Center for Offshore Safety, an industry-sponsored organization
focused exclusively on improving offshore safety and operational integrity.
And his time out in the swamp was
certainly memorable. “Late at night,
I would shine a flashlight and see
10,000 eyes looking back at me. It
wasn’t just technically exciting; it was a
fantastic adventure all the way around.”
Williams continued to work on
developing the tools, techniques and
standards for high-pressure, hightemperature well completions, including
metallurgical work to protect wells from
corrosive gases and high pressures. He
appreciated the opportunity to not only
design well solutions, but also see many
of his designs implemented in the field.
“When I worked in the Corsair Trend
offshore Texas, I served as a section
leader, grade 11 manager, production
superintendent and engineering
manager for the development. It was an
incredible opportunity to experience the
project at different management levels.”
Williams had a chance to be a part of
the first offshore high-pressure well test.
“Everybody was concerned because
we had never tested a high-pressure
well offshore, but there was a deep
commitment to safety. I put a
tremendous amount of heart and soul
into making sure that test was done
right.”
When it came to developing the tools
and technologies needed to bring Shell
into deep water, Williams relished the
technical challenge. “I worked on
gravel packs when I first came to work
for Shell back in 1971, but this time,
the challenge was making this
technology work over long completion
intervals at high rates and deep depths.
It was not only a technical challenge,
but it was a challenge convincing
people that it was possible. We had to
change people’s mindsets.”
Though there was a great deal of
enthusiasm and excitement around
deep water, the pressure was on. “If we
couldn’t solve these technical
challenges, deep water wouldn’t work.
There was a lot of intensity; we
understood what was at stake. It was
certainly one of the most important
projects I worked on at Shell.”
When Hurricane Katrina ravaged the
Gulf Coast, Marvin Odum himself
called Williams, asking if he would take
over as vice president of recovery in the
Gulf of Mexico. “Mars—our biggestproducing asset in the Gulf of Mexico–
was completely down, its process
facilities crushed. We spent days, nights
and weekends reconstructing that
platform, working with 200 contractors,
many of whom required interpreters,”
he recalls. “We delivered that project
sooner than anyone expected, under »
14
FEATURE/SHELL NEWS
budget and without a single incident.
That was a pretty amazing
accomplishment, and I was very proud
to be a part of it.”
Giving back to the industry
In 2010, Williams took on what he
thought would be his last position at
Shell. “I was serving as well delivery
manager in Anchorage at the time of
the Macondo incident in the Gulf of
Mexico. We were on the verge of
drilling, and Marvin Odum and others
knew the potential impact this incident
could have on executing the Alaska
project.” Williams headed to
Washington to meet with members of
Congress and the Minerals
Management Service. “I was there to
get the message out about how Shell
plans its drilling programs and what we
do differently.”
Williams testified before the Presidential
Oil Spills Commission and the National
Academy of Commissions and, even
today, meets regularly with members of
Congress about offshore deepwater
operations. He conducted technical
“Making the difficult decision
to retire was easier knowing
that this next great challenge
will benefit Shell.”
work in modifying and improving
Shell’s own internal safety standards
and served on the operating committee
of the Marine Well Containment System
project with subject-matter experts from
ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and
Chevron. “This amount of industry
collaboration and the timeline for
project delivery was unprecedented.”
The experience inspired his next move:
executive director of the Center for
Offshore Safety, an industry-sponsored
organization focused exclusively on
improving offshore safety and
operational integrity.
“We are only as good as our safety
and environmental management
systems. Making these systems more
effective, sharing best practices and
working together as an industry is the
key barrier to preventing major
incidents. It’s something I’m very
passionate about.
“Working at Shell couldn’t have been a
more exciting and interesting
experience. Making the difficult
decision to retire was easier knowing
that this next great challenge will benefit
Shell. I see it as a great opportunity to
give back and make a meaningful
contribution to the entire industry.” «
NEW LIQUIDS-RICH SHALE ASSET
Shell is increasing its North American
onshore presence with the acquisition
of the Delaware Basin asset in the
Permian Basin of West Texas.
The company recently entered into a
definitive agreement with Chesapeake
Energy to purchase the asset.
This substantial acquisition will add
an eighth producing asset to Shell’s
portfolio of seven onshore assets in
North America.
The transaction consists of 618,000
net acres with 26,000 barrels of oil
equivalent per day. Chesapeake
Energy will handle operatorship
responsibilities for Shell during an
interim period under a Temporary
Services Agreement.
The acquisition is a further step by
Shell’s Upstream Americas business to
build a leading portfolio of shale
assets rich in oil and natural gas
liquids.
Exploring new resources
Shell has built a large and
competitive portfolio of onshore
natural gas which the company
continues to optimize to ensure robust
investment opportunities in
challenging price environments.
Advances in horizontal drilling,
hydraulic fracturing and geological
sweet-spot mapping in unconventional
gas over the past few years have
paved the way for yet another
untapped, unconventional resource—
light tight oil, also called liquids-rich
shale (LRS). The development of LRS is
the next opportunity within Shell’s
tight/shale gas portfolio.
including those around land use,
water management and hydraulic
fracturing. Shell’s safe and
responsible approach for all onshore
activities is outlined in the global
Onshore Tight Sand/Shale Oil & Gas
Operating Principles at
www.shell.us/naturalgas. «
“At Shell, we believe we can explore,
develop and produce these resources
safely and responsibly,” said Peter
Voser, CEO, during an investor
briefing earlier this year. “We’ve
been working hard to build up Shell’s
portfolio in tight gas, and we’ve
moved rapidly into liquids-rich shales.
We have 50,000 square kilometers
[12 million acres worldwide],
including 12,000 square kilometers
[3 million acres] of liquids-rich
shales.”
Understanding liquids-rich
shale and shale gas
Like tight and shale gas, liquids-rich
shale is produced by extracting oil
from deep in the earth’s surface,
generally via horizontal drilling
and hydraulic fracturing.
LRS plays occur in many of the major
onshore basins in the Americas, from
Argentina to the Western Canadian
Sedimentary Basin. LRS exploration
and production has similar
non-technical risks and challenges to
those associated with onshore gas,
While the majority of the world’s
oil currently comes from rock which
has adequate permeability to
enable the natural flow of liquids
into the well, oil reserves in
ultra-low permeability or “tight”
rocks such as the Bakken shales in
North Dakota and the Mississippi
limestone in Kansas have also
proven to become producible. For
more information about shale gas,
visit www.shell.us/naturalgas. «
FEATURE
‘HAVE HORSE, WILL TRAVEL’
Shell’s Rod Sinclair rides in Calgary Stampede parade
Over the years, he has won
championships, including the North
American Rodeo Commission
bareback championship in 1979,
co-winner of the Guy Weakick Award
and most valuable cowboy at the
Calgary Stampede, as well as the
Chinook Rodeo Association (CRA)
cowboy of the year and three-time
CRA bareback bronc-riding
champion.
Representing Shell in his role as community affairs coordinator at Waterton, Sinclair (right) often
helps local ranchers with their cattle.
When Calgary Stampede champion
Rod Sinclair, community affairs
coordinator at Waterton, rode his
horse down the streets of Calgary to
celebrate the Stampede’s 100-year
anniversary, he felt what it was like to
have 400,000 people cheering and
clapping for him and 24 past
champions. He also got to hear a
common refrain, “Now these are the
real cowboys.”
After a lifetime of riding, ranching
and competing in high-octane rodeo
sports like bareback riding, steer
wrestling and team roping, Sinclair
would likely agree with them. But
when it comes down to his day-to-day
life, he’s just a neighbor helping
neighbors. He started at Waterton in
1976, and for the last six years has
served as the focal point for Shell’s
presence in the region, talking with
neighbors and engaging with the
community.
For long-time resident Sinclair,
engaging with the community means
helping out in times of need. “Have
horse, will travel,” he says. With his
Shell hat on, Sinclair helps local
neighbors brand cattle and at various
times during the year, can be found
rounding up and moving cattle to
their fall or summer pasture.
He says his role as community affairs
coordinator was a natural fit. “I’ve
lived here over the last 40 years,
raised a family and volunteered in the
community. My role at Shell is about
building relationships, and I know a
lot of these ranchers personally. They
know they can count on me, and they
see Shell as a good neighbor.”
A long, successful
rodeo career
The son of a professional rodeo
competitor, Sinclair was born on a
ranch in southern Saskatchewan and
has been around horses his entire life.
He began riding in rodeos when he
was 12 and continued bareback
riding even while working at Shell.
Sinclair riding bareback in a rodeo
competition.
When a shoulder injury sidelined his
bareback riding career, Sinclair
continued team roping until about five
years ago when he retired to the
sidelines as a photographer. Today,
Sinclair’s photos of rodeos and
wildlife can be found in publications
such as Mule Deer Foundation,
Rodeo Connections and National
Geographic.
Sinclair’s rodeo and wildlife photography has
been featured in a variety of publications,
including National Geographic.
While his days of riding are behind
him, his two granddaughters, ages
10 and 13, are riding at an amateur
level in barrel racing. “My 10-yearold granddaughter, Kelby Terry, just
won year-end championships for the
Foothills Cowboy Association
southern Alberta region. They are
both well on their way to a long
career, and I couldn’t be more
proud.” «
15
12-31-2011
FOR PLAN YEAR ENDING
SUMMARY ANNUAL REPORTS
TO: ALL PARTICIPANTS
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) requires
employers to file annual reports on certain benefit plans. The annual report
has been filed with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor. This pamphlet summarizes the full annual reports
submitted by Shell Oil Company to the EBSA for the Plan Year January 1
through December 31, 2011.
These summaries are provided for your information. They require no action on
your part and have no effect on your benefits. Questions about your benefit
plans or these summaries should be directed to Shell Oil Company, P. O. Box
2463, Houston, TX 77252.
You have the legally protected right to examine each annual report at the
main office of the plan (Shell Oil Company, 910 Louisiana, Houston, Texas
77002), and at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., or to
obtain a copy from the U.S. Department of Labor upon payment of copying
costs. Requests to the Department should be addressed to: Public Disclosure
Room, Room N1513, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C.
20210. «
SHELL PROVIDENT FUND
Plan Number 002. Employer Identification Number 13-1299890
Basic Financial Statement
Benefits under the plan are provided through a trust fund. Plan expenses were
$704,115,204. These expenses included $3,546,905 in administrative
expenses, $699,673,616 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries,
and $894,683 in other expenses. A total of 44,327 persons were
participants in or beneficiaries of the plan at the end of the plan year,
although not all of these persons had yet earned the right to receive benefits.
The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was
$8,492,128,567 as of December 31, 2011, compared to $8,707,395,076
as of January 1, 2011. During the plan year the plan experienced a decrease
in its net assets of $215,266,509. This decrease includes unrealized
appreciation and depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the
difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and
the value of the assets at the beginning of the year or the cost of assets
acquired during the year. The plan had total income of $488,848,695
including employer contributions of $169,916,179, employee contributions
of $205,530,245, and earnings from investments of $96,523,049.*
Your Rights to Additional Information
You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part
thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report:
1. an accountant’s report;
2. financial information;
3. assets held for investment; and
4. information regarding any common or collective trusts, pooled separate
accounts, master trusts or 103-12 investment entities in which the plan
participates.
To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write Trustees
for Shell Pension Trust, P.O. Box 1438, Houston, Texas 77251-1438 or call
(713) 241-7623. The charge to cover copying costs will be $0.10 per page.
You also have the right to receive from the Plan Administrator, on request and
at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the Plan and
accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the Plan and
accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report
from the Plan Administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes
will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs
given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the
report because these portions are furnished without charge.
*Additional Information: Rollovers in the amount of $16,879,222 also
impacted the total plan income of $488,848,695. «
EAST RESOURCES RETIREMENT
SAVINGS PLAN
Plan Number 001. Employer Identification Number 76-0457926.
Basic Financial Statement
Benefits under the plan are provided through a trust fund. Plan expenses were
$1,389,599. These expenses included $7,637 in administrative expenses,
$1,381,962 in benefits paid to participants and beneficiaries, and $0 in
other expenses. A total of 159 persons were participants in or beneficiaries
of the plan at the end of the plan year, although not all of these persons had
yet earned the right to receive benefits.
The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was
$3,687,306 as of December 31, 2011, compared to $5,172,839 as of
January 1, 2011. During the plan year the plan experienced a decrease in
its net assets of $1,485,533. This decrease includes unrealized appreciation
and depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the difference between
the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and the value of the assets
at the beginning of the year or the cost of assets acquired during the year.
The plan had total income of ($95,934) including employer contributions of
$5,619, employee contributions of $0, and earnings from investments of
($101,553).
Your Rights to Additional Information
You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part
thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report:
1. an accountant’s report;
2. financial information;
3. assets held for investment; and
4. information regarding any common or collective trusts, pooled separate
accounts, master trusts or 103-12 investment entities in which the plan
participates.
To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write the Plan
Administrator, P.O. Box 1438, Houston, Texas 77251-1438 or call (713)
241-7623. The charge to cover copying costs will be $0.10 per page.
You also have the right to receive from the Plan Administrator, on request and
at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the Plan and
accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the Plan and
accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report
from the Plan Administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes
will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs
given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the
report because these portions are furnished without charge. «
12-31-2011
FOR PLAN YEAR ENDING
SHELL OIL COMPANY COMPREHENSIVE
WELFARE BENEFITS PLAN
Plan Number 501. Employer Identification Number 13-1299890.
Shell Oil Company has committed itself to pay certain medical, dental,
prescription drug, behavioral health and dependent care claims incurred
under the terms of the Plan.
Insurance Information
The plan has contracts with Ameritas Life Insurance Company, Blue Cross Blue
Shield of Alabama, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, Connecticut General Life
Insurance Company and Affiliates, Coventry Health Care of Louisiana, Delta
Dental of California, Group Health Cooperative, Health Net, HMSA, Humana
Benefit Plan of Louisiana, Hyatt Legal Plans, Inc., John Hancock Life Insurance
Company, Kaiser Foundation Health Plans Inc., Kaiser Foundation Health Plan
of Colorado Inc, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest,
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Regence BlueShield, United Healthcare
of California, United Health Care of the Midwest, United Healthcare of
Oklahoma, Value Options (EAP) and Vision Service Plan (VSP) to pay
accidental death & dismemberment, business travel & accident, dental, legal,
life insurance, long-term disability, long-term care, medical, prescription drug,
temporary disability and vision claims incurred under the terms of the plan.
The total premiums paid for the plan year ending December 31, 2011 were
$149,351,519.
Because the plan has some contracts which are so called “experience-rated”
contracts, the premium costs are affected by, among other things, the number
and size of claims. Of the total insurance premiums paid for the plan year
ending December 31, 2011, the premiums paid under such “experiencerated” contracts were $14,823,286 and the total of all benefit claims paid
under these experience-rated contracts during the plan year was
$18,873,350.
Basic Financial Statement
The value of plan assets, after subtracting liabilities of the plan, was
$6,869,401 as of December 31, 2011, compared to $30,245,029 as of
January 1, 2011. During the plan year the plan experienced a decrease in
its net assets of $23,375,628. This decrease includes unrealized
appreciation and depreciation in the value of plan assets; that is, the
difference between the value of the plan’s assets at the end of the year and
the value of the assets at the beginning of the year or the cost of assets
acquired during the year. During the plan year, the plan had total income of
$537,316,833 including employer contributions of $429,388,912,
employee contributions of $107,855,843, and earnings from investments
of $34,954.*
Plan expenses were $560,692,461. These expenses included $23,243,828
in administrative expenses and $537,448,633 in benefits paid to participants
and beneficiaries.
Your Rights to Additional Information
You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part
thereof, on request. The items listed below are included in that report:
1. an accountant’s report;
2. financial information and information on payments to service providers;
3. assets held for investment;
4. transactions in excess of 5% of Plan assets; and
5.insurance information, including sales commissions paid by
insurance carriers.
To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write Shell Oil
Company, P.O. Box 2463, Houston, TX 77252 or call (713) 241-6515. The
charge to cover copying costs will be $0.10 per page.
You also have the right to receive from the Plan Administrator, on request and
at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the Plan and
accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the Plan and
accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report
from the Plan Administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes
will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs
given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of the
report because these portions are furnished without charge.
*Additional Information: Miscellaneous income in the amount of
$37,124 also impacted total income of $537,316,833. «
SHELL 1996 COLI CONSENT INCENTIVE
BENEFIT PLAN
Plan Number 596. Employer Identification Number 13-1299890.
Shell Oil Company has committed itself to pay all life insurance claims
incurred under the terms of the Plan.
Your Rights to Additional Information
You have the right to receive a copy of the full annual report, or any part
thereof, on request.
To obtain a copy of the full annual report, or any part thereof, write Shell Oil
Company, P.O. Box 2463, Houston, TX 77252 or call (713) 241-6515.
The charge to cover copying costs will be $0.10 per page.
You also have the right to receive from the Plan Administrator, on request and
at no charge, a statement of the assets and liabilities of the Plan and
accompanying notes, or a statement of income and expenses of the Plan and
accompanying notes, or both. If you request a copy of the full annual report
from the Plan Administrator, these two statements and accompanying notes
will be included as part of that report. The charge to cover copying costs
given above does not include a charge for the copying of these portions of
the report because these portions are furnished without charge. «
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
Houston, TX
Permit No. 1991
Shell Oil Company
Communications - Amanda Modglin Accardo
P.O. Box 2463
Houston, Texas 77252-2463
LET’S LIGHT UP
OUR CITIES WITH
A CLEANER SOURCE
OF ELECTRICITY.
We all need electricity. Whether it’s to light up the
local game or warm the mid-game snack – it’s an
essential part of powering our lives. Shell is helping
to deliver natural gas to more countries than any other
energy company. When used to generate electricity,
it emits around half the CO2 of coal. It’s one of the
most abundant sources of energy available today and,
with our continued innovation, it could provide us with
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one of a number of different sources of energy we’re
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into the future. Let’s broaden the world’s energy mix.
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