Shell Chemicals is the
petrochemicals
Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sou ...
arm of
Shell plc
Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...
. The name "Shell Chemicals" refers to the nearly seventy companies engaged in chemicals businesses for Shell, which together make up one of the largest petrochemical producers in the world. The company has a wide range of products that include
acetone
Acetone (2-propanone or dimethyl ketone), is an organic compound with the formula . It is the simplest and smallest ketone (). It is a colorless, highly volatile and flammable liquid with a characteristic pungent odour.
Acetone is miscib ...
, aromatics,
ethylene oxide
Ethylene oxide is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula . It is a cyclic ether and the simplest epoxide: a three-membered Ring (chemistry), ring consisting of one oxygen atom and two carbon atoms. Ethylene oxide is a colorless a ...
,
ethylene glycol
Ethylene glycol (IUPAC name: ethane-1,2-diol) is an organic compound (a vicinal diol) with the formula . It is mainly used for two purposes, as a raw material in the manufacture of polyester fibers and for antifreeze formulations. It is an odo ...
s,
alkene
In organic chemistry, an alkene is a hydrocarbon containing a carbon–carbon double bond.
Alkene is often used as synonym of olefin, that is, any hydrocarbon containing one or more double bonds.H. Stephen Stoker (2015): General, Organic, an ...
s,
nonene
Nonene is an alkene with the molecular formula C9H18. Many structural isomers are possible, depending on the location of the C=C double bond and the branching of the other parts of the molecule. Industrially, the most important nonenes are trimers ...
,
phenol
Phenol (also called carbolic acid) is an aromatic organic compound with the molecular formula . It is a white crystalline solid that is volatile. The molecule consists of a phenyl group () bonded to a hydroxy group (). Mildly acidic, it req ...
,
polyethylene
Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging ( plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bo ...
,
polyol
In organic chemistry, a polyol is an organic compound containing multiple hydroxyl groups (). The term "polyol" can have slightly different meanings depending on whether it is used in food science or polymer chemistry. Polyols containing two, thr ...
s, and
solvent
A solvent (s) (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for ...
s.
Our products
on company website
History
Shell companies first entered the chemicals industry in 1929, via a partnership with Koninklijke Nederlandsche Hoogovens en Staalfabrieken
Koninklijke Hoogovens known as Koninklijke Nederlandse Hoogovens en Staalfabrieken (KNHS) until 1996 or informally Hoogovens. was a Dutch steel producer founded in 1918. Since 2010, the plant is named Tata Steel IJmuiden.
The IJmuiden steelwor ...
in the Netherlands
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called NV Mekog, which manufactured ammonia from coke-oven gas produced at the steelworks in IJmuiden
IJ_(digraph).html" ;"title="n IJ (digraph)">n IJ (digraph) and that should remain the only places where they are used. >
IJmuiden () is a port city in the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Holland. It is the main town in the municipality ...
. Meanwhile, in the United States, the Shell Chemical Company (founded 1929) began the world's first production of ammonia from natural gas in California in 1931. It also started production of chemical solvents from refinery gases in California during the early 1930s while in 1942 it pioneered the production of butadiene
1,3-Butadiene () is the organic compound with the formula (CH2=CH)2. It is a colorless gas that is easily condensed to a liquid. It is important industrially as a precursor to synthetic rubber. The molecule can be viewed as the union of two viny ...
, a key raw material for synthetic rubbers. In 1941, production of ''Teepol'' liquid detergent began at Stanlow in the UK, the first manufacture of a petroleum-based organic chemical in Europe. Through out the years as Shell Chemicals business grows inline with the Oil and Gas segment, many plants were set up globally. The Teepol brand is now manufactured in different counterparts globally. Among them are Teepol Products UK based at Orpington in Greater London and Teepol Malaysia based at Klang in Malaysia. From there it is sold worldwide. In the decades that have followed, Shell Chemicals companies have been significant players in the growth of the global petrochemicals sector and have developed some of its key manufacturing processes.
Portfolio of businesses
The Shell Chemicals portfolio is focused on six product businesses and two international joint ventures. It includes the operation a number of large-scale plants that produce high volume products. The companies included in Shell Chemicals employ around 8,500 people worldwide.
Key manufacturing locations
Shell Chemicals companies source product from manufacturing facilities around the world. Some of these facilities are operated by Shell Chemicals companies, some by other businesses within the Shell Group and others by joint ventures in which Shell holds varying levels of investment.
Currently, Shell Chemicals companies' main manufacturing locations for petrochemical building blocks are:
* Moerdijk/Pernis, The Netherlands
* Stanlow, UK
* Deer Park, USA
* Geismar, USA
* Mobile, USA
* Norco, USA
* Scotford, Canada
* Jurong Island/Pulau Bukom, Singapore
* Klang, Malaysia
;Notes
References
External links
*
{{Royal Dutch Shell
Chemical companies of the Netherlands
Shell plc subsidiaries
Petrochemical companies