Shell plc was founded in 1907 through the merger of Royal Dutch Petrolium Company and the "Shell" Transport and Trading Company. It is a British multinational oil and gas company, and is a public limited company. It is a core component of Big Oil, also known as the worlds largest investor-owned oil and gas companies, also known as supermajors, being the second largest investor-owned oil and gas company globally.

Shell are primarily an oil and gas company, but have branched out into alternative energies in the 2000s.

It is headquartered in London, UK.