Statistical Tables 1880-2000
1 - Oil production
2 - Share prices, market capitalization and other financial data
3 - Product sales and natural gas sales
4 - Employment
In this appendix we present the data collected for analysing the development of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group in comparative perspective. We have concentrated on data available for the longest possible time period - preferably the whole period under study - and which are also characteristic for the performance of oil companies or of companies in general. The opening set of series collected concerns crude oil production, its level and spread by regions and countries. Next follows a series mirroring the financial performance of Royal Dutch/Shell. This consists of two groups: firstly share prices and market capitalization, reflecting the stock market's assessment of the performances of Royal Dutch and Shell Transport, and secondly summaries of the balance sheets and profit and loss statements of the Group. Unfortunately, consolidated accounts are only available from 1951 onwards. The third group of figures (also only available from 1951 onwards) relates to total sales, and the fourth category provides data on employment offered by the Group.
For comparison with Royal Dutch/Shell our reference group consists of the two companies which were its main competitors, and sometimes its closest partners - namely Standard Oil, which evolved into Jersey Standard, Exxon, and ultimately ExxonMobil, and Anglo-Persian, which became Anglo-Iranian and then British Petroleum.
We have decided to publish the collected data for the period up to the year 2000. Readers should note that we here present summaries of the most important indicators of performance. In order to arrive at series that are comparable over a century, it has been necessary to summarize and to some extent simplify the data. For more recent years, given the sensitive nature of such figures, we prefer not to publish such summarized indicators, but instead refer readers to the website of Royal Dutch Shell plc. The data published, as collated by the authors of this book, are also available on the present website.