Shell plc (SHEL) is an Anglo-Dutch multinational oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, with a registered office in London, United Kingdom. The company was formed through the merger of Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. and U.K.-based Shell Transport & Trading Co. Shell ranks as the seventh-largest company in the world by revenue and is one of the six oil and gas "supermajors" — the group of the largest publicly traded petroleum companies globally. In January 2022, Shell completed a corporate simplification that unified its dual-listed structure into a single legal entity and shifted its tax residence to the United Kingdom, a move the company said would improve decision-making speed and competitiveness.

The company operates across all major segments of the oil and gas industry, including upstream exploration and production, downstream refining and marketing, and integrated gas. Shell also has a growing renewables and energy solutions business as part of its strategy to transition toward lower-carbon energy sources. Like its supermajor peers — BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and TotalEnergies among them — Shell faces competing pressures from investors: some demand continued returns from core oil and gas operations, while others push for accelerated investment in clean energy. Shell has set a target to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement goals, and has periodically adjusted its near-term emissions reduction milestones.

This coverage is authored by William V. Selesky, Senior Analyst covering the Basic Materials sector at Argus Research. Selesky has over 15 years of experience in the investment business, having held senior equity analyst positions at firms including Palisade Capital Management, PaineWebber/Mitchell Hutchins Asset Management, and John Hsu Capital Group. His coverage has spanned multiple sectors, including Consumer Staples, Consumer Discretionary, Energy, Media, Transportation, Gaming, and Utilities. While at PaineWebber, he served on a team managing $9 billion in active equity products. Prior to his investment career, Selesky spent eight years as a credit analyst at American Express Company and five years as an analyst at Equifax Services. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Investment Finance from Pace University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Fordham University.