Shell Chemicals

History

Shell companies first entered the chemicals industry in 1929, via a partnership with Koninklijke Nederlandsche Hoogovens en Staalfabrieken in the Netherlands called NV Mekog, which manufactured ammonia from coke-oven gas produced at the steelworks in IJmuiden. Meanwhile, in the United States, the Shell Chemical Company (founded 1929) began the world's first production of ammonia from natural gas in California in 1931. It also started production of chemical solvents from refinery gases in California during the early 1930s, while in 1942, it pioneered the production of butadiene, a key raw material for synthetic rubbers. In 1941, production of Teepol liquid detergent began at Stanlow in the UK, the first manufacture of a petroleum-based organic chemical in Europe. Throughout the years as Shell Chemicals business grows inline with the Oil and Gas segment, many plants were set up globally. The Teepol brand is now manufactured in different counterparts globally. Among them are Teepol Products UK based at Orpington in Greater London and Teepol Malaysia based at Klang in Malaysia. From there it is sold worldwide. In the decades that have followed, Shell Chemicals companies have been significant players in the growth of the global petrochemicals sector and have developed some of its key manufacturing processes.