Shell: a leader in the global energy market

Long before cars even existed, people were already familiar with the shell — the Shell oils logo. This company has come a long way, and a successful one, from a small London antique shop to a giant conglomerate and leader in the global energy market. Today Shell has a huge number of plants across numerous countries around the world and ranks among the largest multinational energy companies. On top of that, the company runs a whole series of joint projects making Shell engine oils at other plants, but under its own control.

According to company representatives, Shell engine oils will very soon start being produced in Russia. At present, several types of mineral Shell Rimula oils, used mostly in commercial transport, are made in our country at the LUKOIL-Permnefteorgsintez plant. In 2009 the group began building its own oil-blending plant in Torzhok, in the Tver region. The new facility is planned to produce a wide range of automotive oils for passenger cars and other types of transport. The company expects to launch production in Torzhok in the first half of 2011. Despite the fact that our drivers don't fully trust engine oils made in Russia, experts predict a significant rise in the share of Shell Helix engine oils on the domestic lubricants market.

For now, Shell engine oils for passenger cars are distributed to CIS markets from plants located in Austria, Germany and Finland. Less officially, Shell engine oils also make their way into our country from the group's plants operating in France, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. At the same time, the Russian market today is flooded with output from so-called "grey" and "black" manufacturers. What they do is decant genuine Shell engine oil, supplied in two-hundred-litre drums, into canisters ordered and made at plants here in the likeness of the originals. But what guarantee is there that these operators won't pour a cheap fake into a supposedly branded canister instead? Sadly, today there's no shortage of cases of extensive counterfeiting of any well-known brand's products, and since Shell engine oils are hugely popular on the consumer market, the odds of buying a non-original are high. There's one way to avoid falling for scammers' tricks — buy Shell engine oils from this company's official representatives.