United Kingdom

Shell has been present in the UK since 1897. Shell has explored for and produced oil and gas in the North Sea for more than 50 years. Shell is one of the region’s biggest producers and supplies around 10% of the UK’s total oil and gas needs. Shell also supplies, trades and markets products made from oil and gas. Support activities include our Projects & Technology teams based in Aberdeen and London. They support the delivery of major projects around the world, from developing gas-to-liquids plants to deep-water exploration. Every year Shell spends more than £200 million on research and development in the UK. There is also a treasury team in London that provides cash management and financial services.

Country Financial Analysis

The corporate income tax rate in the UK is 40% for upstream UK continental shelf activities and 19% for all other activities.

Shell did not pay corporation tax in 2019 due to tax losses arising in the current and previous years. These losses arose due to significant investment in new fields on the UK continental shelf. Shell also received tax refunds related to decommissioning costs incurred.

Decommissioning is a cost incurred as part of the life cycle of the field and is tax deductible. For late-life assets, decommissioning can generate net tax losses that offset profits made and taxes paid in previous years. As a result, tax that has effectively been overpaid is refunded.

Our Payments to Governments Report for 2019 also shows payments of around $6 million in fees.