Wednesday December 22, 2010

Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – Royal Dutch Shell today announced its new partnership with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) by joining KAUST's Industry Collaboration Program (KICP) as a Founding Member.

This KICP membership provides a platform for both parties to develop further collaboration in both business development and research focusing on longer term emerging technologies, with the potential to develop future game-changing solutions for the energy sector. Key areas of potential mutual interest include nanotechnology, solar energy, geophysics, visualization technologies, computer modeling and water treatment.

Amin M. AlShibani, Vice President of KAUST's Economic Development group explained: "We welcome Royal Dutch Shell into our Industry Collaboration Program and look forward to helping them find and further develop the technologies they need to successfully meet the challenges that a growing world population and the need for resources require. Their involvement with our Research Centers, Labs, scientists and students will no doubt help us all be successful."

Gerald Schotman, Chief Technology Officer for Royal Dutch Shell, said: "Shell is excited about the potential of expanding its Middle East presence in research and development (R&D) through this new partnership with KAUST, which is recognized as a key research and technology academic institution.

"We are very proud to have been accepted as a Founding Member and we look forward to working with their top scientists and state-of-the-art research facilities to develop new technologies and drive innovative solutions that address some of the world's most pressing challenges in the field of energy and sustainable development."

Designed to maximize the effectiveness of industry collaboration within the Kingdom and internationally by engaging key partners, one major KICP goal is to translate knowledge into economic growth and job creation.

The R&D collaboration with KAUST, through KICP, complements Shell's in-country business footprint spanning both the Upstream and Downstream businesses including lubricants, manufacturing and marketing, aviation operations, technical services, refining, chemicals and gas exploration and reflects the company's commitment to contribute to the economic development of Saudi Arabia.

About King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is an international, graduate level research university dedicated to inspiring a new age of scientific achievement in the Kingdom that will also benefit the region and the world.

KAUST is the realization of a decades-long vision of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. KAUST is governed by an independent, self-perpetuating Board of Trustees and supported by a generous endowment.

About Royal Dutch Shell plc

Royal Dutch Shell plc is incorporated in England and Wales, has its headquarters in The Hague and is listed on the London, Amsterdam, and New York stock exchanges.

Shell companies have operations in more than 100 countries and territories with businesses including oil and gas exploration and production; production and marketing of liquefied natural gas and gas to liquids; manufacturing, marketing and shipping of oil products and chemicals and renewable energy projects. For further information, visit www.shell.com

Cautionary Note

The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate entities. In this press release "Shell", "Shell group" and "Royal Dutch Shell" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies. ''Subsidiaries'', "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as used in this press release refer to companies in which Royal Dutch Shell either directly or indirectly has control, by having either a majority of the voting rights or the right to exercise a controlling influence. The companies in which Shell has significant influence but not control are referred to as "associated companies" or "associates" and companies in which Shell has joint control are referred to as "jointly controlled entities". In this press release, associates and jointly controlled entities are also referred to as "equity-accounted investments". The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect (for example, through our 34% shareholding in Woodside Petroleum Ltd.) ownership interest held by Shell in a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party interest.

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''anticipate'', ''believe'', ''could'', ''estimate'', ''expect'', ''intend'', ''may'', ''plan'', ''objectives'', ''outlook'', ''probably'', ''project'', ''will'', ''seek'', ''target'', ''risks'', ''goals'', ''should'' and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this press release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for the Group's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserve estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including potential litigation and regulatory effects arising from recategorisation of reserves; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in trading conditions. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell's 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2008 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov ). These factors also should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, 30 October 2010. Neither Royal Dutch Shell nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permits oil and gas companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only proved reserves that a company has demonstrated by actual production or conclusive formation tests to be economically and legally producible under existing economic and operating conditions. We use certain terms in this press release that SEC's guidelines strictly prohibit us from including in filings with the SEC. U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov. You can also obtain these forms from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.