A CASE STUDY ON ‘ROYAL DUTCH SHELL’

Introduction:
Royal Dutch Shell PLC, commonly known as Shell, is an Anglo-Dutch oil and gas
company headquartered in the Netherlands and incorporated in the United Kingdom. Shell is
vertically integrated and is active in every area of the oil and gas industry, including exploration
and production, refining, transport, distribution and marketing, petrochemicals, power generation
and trading.

Shell's primary business is the management of a vertically integrated oil company. The
development of technical and commercial expertise in all stages of this vertical integration,
from the initial search for oil (exploration) through its harvesting (production), transportation,
refining and finally trading and marketing established the core competencies on which the
company was founded. Similar competencies were required for natural gas, which has become
one of the most important businesses in which Shell is involved, and which contributes a
significant proportion of the company's profits. While the vertically integrated business model
provided significant economies of scale and barriers to entry, each business now seeks to be a
self-supporting unit without subsidies from other parts of the company.

Challenges:

The global population today is approximately 7.4 billion today, and is projected to reach
10 billion by 2050. Industrialization and population growth are closely intertwined, fueled by
energy consumption that the US Energy Information Administration says will increase by 48
percent between 2012 and 2040. And although renewable energy sources are on the rise, fossil
fuels will still account for more than 75 percent of the energy consumed worldwide. To support
the world’s expanding economies and populations, energy companies like Royal Dutch Shell
continuously look for new ways to keep up with a growing demand for dwindling resources.

There are three closely linked global challenges:

1. Increasing energy demand
2. Environmental and climate change
3. National and global security

Attendant with these challenges are the related concerns of science and technology
developments, management of research and development, and global economic advancement.
The major activities of an oil and gas company revolve around the following elements:
• Exploration
• Drilling and production
• Transportation
• Refining
• Marketing

Solution by Azzure:
Collaboration is key, but disparate locations and technologies can hinder productivity.
Shell works extensively with outside vendors, and provisioning access to corporate network
accounts can take months. The company wanted a more streamlined, centralized solution to
support application development. Lisa Thomas, Senior Software Developer at Royal Dutch
Shell, says “The software requires a lot of fine-tuning, and it’s a very busy job because users
request a lot of features and I’m constantly working on trying to deliver them.”
Objective:
On a mission to be the most competitive, innovative energy company in the world, Shell
relies on the latest technology to support global processes, including the production of more than
3 million barrels of crude oil equivalent each day. The days of easy oil and gas exploration and
drilling are over, eclipsed by a new focus on technologies that help locate energy sources deep
underground or beneath the sea. Today, seismic imaging technologies that seemed futuristic even
a decade ago are now the norm.
To meet the world’s growing energy demand, Shell’s software development team works
tirelessly to keep its specialized software up to date and enhanced with new features.

Feasibility Study:
 Technical Study:
Stock management for petrol pump is a tricky task. Fuel like petrol, diesel and
CNG are easily evaporable and volatile, making it difficult to store. Consequently, the
fuel stock has to be constantly monitored to track both the existing stock and the quantity
that is wasted because of poor handling.

Fortunately, all these challenges can be handled efficiently by embracing technology.

One such automation tool is petrol pump management software. It is a useful tool to have
when it comes to stock management. This software can generate reports for item-wise
closing stock, slow-moving stock, and items that need to be re-ordered from distributors.
In-built analytics tools of petrol pump management software make it so easy to handle
stock efficiently.

Analytic tools help petrol pump staff manage stock, plan inventory, improve fuel price
risk management, and increase sales and accounting. Overall, analytical tools make petrol
pumps capable of staying ahead of the curve and making informed decisions that yield
positive results, from a financial and an operational perspective.

 Technologies used:
1. Seismic Imaging
2. Visual Studio Team Services on Microsoft Azure.
3. Big Data and Cloud

 Business Plan:
1. Running a safe, efficient, responsible and profitable business.
2. Sharing wider benefits where we operate.
In the coming decades, more and cleaner energy will be needed for economic development
in the face of growing environmental pressures. We are investing in low-carbon energy
solutions and advanced technologies, such as those that increase energy efficiency and
reduce emissions. We continue to contribute to the public dialogue on energy and climate
 policy. Yet, the scale of the global challenges that the world faces are too great for one
company, or one sector, to resolve. We advocate business, government and civil society
working together to better shape a more sustainable energy future.

Selection of Appropriate Project Approach:

According to Azzure, the Engagement model is using Agile Methodology.

Agile methodology is a practice that promotes continuous iteration of development and

testing throughout the software development lifecycle of the project. Both development and
testing activities are concurrent unlike the Waterfall model. The agile software development
emphasizes on four core values.

1. Individual and team interactions over processes and tools

2. Working software over comprehensive documentation
3. Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
4. Responding to change over following a plan

Agile methodology

Why did Azzure Choose Agile Model:

 Requirements are not very clear and tend to change.

 It is a huge project which lasts for a very long time.
 The testing of each and every component, every now and then is very important in order
to work in real time.
 Frequent communication with clients is very important.

Accordingly, this Software Project approach is appropriate, since there is no exact agreement
between the clients and developers regarding requirements and also it is a huge project which
lasts for long
Activity Planning

Royal Dutch SHELL

Activity planning for Royal Dutch Shell Fuel Detecting Software

Risk Management:

Fuel price risk management is a cyclic process of decision making and implementing risk
controls. It’s a mix of both financial risk management and oil price analysis. The assessment of
risk is done through analysis of financial reports, fuel consumption and fuel cost calculations,
among others.

Managing fuel price risk is of utmost importance for a petrol pump, as it helps them predict fuel
costs changes and react to market change for negating any financial loss and stabilizing the cash
flow. Analytical tools of a petrol pump management software can help in assessing fuel price
risk through analysis and reporting. A petrol pump can use this assessment to form strategies and
defuse fuel price risk.
 Risk Plan using PERT:(Approximately)

Activity Duration Precedence

(in weeks)
A Planning and Tracking 2 ----

B Communication Management 1 ----

C Resource Management 2 A,B

D Budget, Cost and Billing Management 2 C

E Developing 4 D

F Testing and Bug Tracking 1 E

G Change Request Management 1 E,F

H Integration and Testing 2 G

0 2 2 2 2 4 4 2 6 6 4 10
A C D E
0 0 2 2 0 4 4 0 6 6 0 10

START

0 1 1 10 1 11 11 1 12 12 2 14
B F G H
1 1 2 10 0 11 11 0 12 12 0 14

CRITICAL PATH:
A--->C--->D--->E--->F--->G--->H
  Most Likely Time (m): It is the actual duration needed to complete the project.
 Optimistic Time (a): It is the least time in which the entire project can be completed.
 Pessimistic Time (b): It is longest or the worst time taken by the project to get completed.
Precedence Optimistic Most Likely Pessimistic
(a) (m) (b)
A ---- 1 2 2

B ---- 1 1 1

C A,B 1 2 2

D C 2 2 3

E D 3 4 5

F E 1 1 2

G E,F 1 1 1

H G 2 2 2

To calculate the Time Estimates (te ) and Standard Deviation (S)

te = (a+4m+b)/6 S = (b-a)/6

Precedence Optimistic Most Likely Pessimistic te S

(a) (m) (b)
A ---- 1 2 2 1.83 0

B ---- 1 1 1 1 0

C A,B 1 2 2 1.8 0.16

D C 2 2 3 1.18 0.16

E D 3 4 5 4 0.33

F E 1 1 2 1.16 0.16

G E,F 1 1 1 1 0

H G 2 2 2 2 0

Risk analysis:
 Ranking of uncertainty or risk based on Standard Deviation.
Activity S
E 0.33
C 0.16
D 0.16
F 0.16
A 0
B 0
G 0
H 0

According to risk analysis using PERT method, Risk is higher in Activity E i,e Developing.
Hence there is a higher risk of developing the code on time.

Identification of :
 Impact of Stress:
 Impact of Health:
 Impact of Safety:
 Impact of Ethical:
 Impact of Professional:

Conclusion:
Drilling into a theoretical reservoir of oil, operating a massive oil logistics business, or
running a refinery with a technical production process, the complexity and variability throughout
the value chain of the oil and gas industry is staggering. Given this complexity, a recent survey
of oil and gas companies found that ~90% of respondents said that increasing the data analytics
and monitoring systems within their operations would lead to a direct increase in the value of
their business.
Faced with daily manpower, logistics and capital allocation decisions, in addition to
offshore drilling projects that can cost upwards of $100 million, Shell understands that poor data
management can lead to massive expenses. Hence Shell decided to adapt with new technologies
that could ease and improve their business.