Asiatic Petroleum Company (APC) was a joint venture between the

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard ou ...

and Royal Dutch oil companies founded in 1903. It operated in Asia in the early twentieth century. The

corporate headquarters Corporate headquarters is the part of a corporate structure that deals with important tasks such as strategic planning, corporate communications, taxes, law, books of record, marketing, finance, human resources, and information technology. Corpor ...

were on

The Bund The Bund or Waitan (, Shanghainese romanization: ''Nga3thae1'', , ) is a waterfront area and a protected historical district in central Shanghai. The area centers on a section of Zhongshan Road (East Zhongshan Road No.1) within the former Shang ...

in Shanghai, China. The division tested the limits of corporate liability in the ''

Lennard's Carrying Co Ltd v Asiatic Petroleum Co Ltd ''Lennard's Carrying Co Ltd v Asiatic Petroleum Co Ltd'' 915AC 705 is a famous decision by the House of Lords on the ability to impose liability upon a corporation. The decision expands upon the earlier decision in '' Salomon v Salomon & Co.'' 8 ...

'' case. The company was involved in the early developments of

Frank Whittle Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, (1 June 1907 – 8 August 1996) was an English engineer, inventor and Royal Air Force (RAF) air officer. He is credited with inventing the turbojet engine. A patent was submitted by Maxime Guillaume in 1921 for ...

in the

jet engine A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and hybrid propulsion, the term ...

field, a Mr. I Lubbock of the company devising a suitable

combustion chamber A combustion chamber is part of an internal combustion engine in which the fuel/air mix is burned. For steam engines, the term has also been used for an extension of the firebox which is used to allow a more complete combustion process. Interna ...

design, known as the 'Lubbock Burner' and used in the

Power Jets WU The Power Jets WU (Whittle Unit) was a series of three very different experimental jet engines produced and tested by Frank Whittle and his small team in the late 1930s. Design and development The WU "First Model", also known by Whittle as the ...

and subsequent engines. In 1951, China requisitioned all property belonging to the company in retaliation for the Hong Kong Government's requisitioning of the tanker .

References

Oil companies of China Joint ventures Shell plc subsidiaries Energy companies established in 1903 Non-renewable resource companies established in 1903 Companies based in Shanghai Chinese companies established in 1903 Defunct energy companies of China {{petroleum-company-stub

See also

References