Shell focuses on developing new products, new energy sources

MANILA, Philippines - The image of a yellow-and-red outlined seashell is arguably one of the most distinctive and enduring brands in the world, and yet when one stops and thinks about it, what might a giant scallop actually have to do with the world’s leading power, energy and gas technology company?

As early as 1897, Shell was already selling modest amounts of gasoline and kerosene in Manila.

It was a period of great change, as the Philippines was transitioning from Spanish colonial rule to the American occupation, and also towards industrialization which required a constant supply of fuel.

Around this time, in 1900s Europe, Shell come up with its first logo bearing the visual of a mussel shell, which was changed to a scallop shell years later.

Back in the Philippines, Shell kerosene, under the trademark Rising Sun, was being distributed to 40 percent of the local market by the early turn of the century.

Finally on Jan. 10, 1914, Shell established its Manila office as Asiatic Petroleum Co. (Philippine Islands) Ltd. Although staffed with just six people, the company was able to grow its business in the archipelago and sold around 2 million liters of motor gasoline using the era’s humble but hardy modes of transportation – a banca, three carromatas, and a carretela.

A century later, Shell is at the forefront of meeting the future energy demand of the nation.

More than just being a petroleum company, Shell is a proponent of progress and change – helping the government in nation-building and powering communities across the country in a more sustainable manner. 

Shell is currently focused on diversifying the energy mix in the country and meeting increasing energy demand and supply challenges by delivering smarter products and cleaner energy, smarter infrastructure, promoting smarter use, and by developing new energy sources while addressing impact on the environment, through cleaner burning-natural gas and advanced fuels and lubricants technology.

This diversified energy portfolio, together with significant market contributions and sustainable development advocacies and programs, helped buoy overall economic growth of the country.