Production of Shell engine oils
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Being one of the largest multinational energy companies, Shell has a great many plants around the world, oil-blending plants among them. On top of that, there's a whole series of joint and licensed projects, in which Shell engine oils are produced at other companies' plants under Shell's supervision.
In Russia, several types of Shell Rimula mineral oils (for commercial vehicles) are made at the "LUKOIL-Permnefteorgsintez" (PNOS) plant. On top of that, construction of Shell's own oil-blending plant began in 2009 in the town of Torzhok (Tver Region), where most types of automotive oils, including passenger-car oils, are due to be produced. Production in Torzhok is scheduled to launch in early 2011. Whether launching its own production in Russia will boost Shell's share of the Russian lubricants market remains to be seen, but for now sociological research shows that among Russian car owners, trust in engine oils manufactured on Russian soil is fairly low, regardless of the specific brand.
As of today, Shell's passenger-car engine oils are officially supplied to CIS markets from plants in Finland, Germany and Austria; on top of that, oils made in the UK, France, Sweden and Switzerland can also be found on sale — though these are mostly not distributor supplies.
Rumours about a "Russian" origin for Shell oils found on Russian markets are mostly linked to products from so-called "grey" and "black" manufacturers. This refers to those who, without any right to do so, order packaging (canisters) identical to the original and fill it either with genuine Shell oil bought in bulk drums, or with something else entirely.
Unfortunately, mass counterfeiting is the fate of any brand with high popularity and market share, and Shell is no exception. That's why the only way to protect yourself from buying counterfeit Shell engine oil is to buy it only from an official representative of the brand. You should understand that even with so-called "grey" manufacturers (where genuine oil from 200-litre drums is poured into counterfeit canisters), no one can guarantee that a cheap mineral oil hasn't been poured into a canister labelled as expensive synthetic — even if it is, in fact, genuine Shell.